Omae wa ore no Hikari
by sugarskies
Summary: [You Are My Light] [Based off of Seito’s AU Oneshots] Hao and Yoh are being hunted down for their Shamanic powers. With little shelter and protection, Hao must find a way to protect his dear younger brother. [Hao x Yoh.Horo x Ren.AU] [COMPLETED]
1. Default Chapter

**Omae ore wa Hikari**

**By blackcat125**

**Summary: (**You Are My Light Based off of Seito's Yume, Still Waiting,and Promise me Tonight) Hao and Yoh are being hunted down for their Shamanic powers. With little shelter and protection, Hao must find a way to protect his dear younger brother. (Hao x Yoh) (HoroHoro x Ren) (AU)

**Dedication and credit: **To one of the more talented writers on this website; Seito. ) She's the one who came up for the idea for this, writing the one-shots. I just turned it into a full-series fic. But, yes, she came up for all the ideas, plots, ect.

**Chapter 1**

Hao stared down at his collapsed brother.

They were alone--two children alone without any parents or family members to go to.

The two siblings were being hunted down; as if animals. All because they were Shamans. Yoh didn't even know _what_ a Shaman was, and, he was being hunted for it.

_That's not unusual._ Hao thought bitterly as he held his brother in his arms gently. _His powers have not yet awakened yet. And mine have barely just begun to show itself._

....All he needed was a spirit.

It didn't need to be much; just something to protect him and his brother. Something that would prevent the almost inevitable death the future held for him. For his little brother.

He rose at that thought, ignoring the tiredness he felt. If his brother were to die before him, he would definitely follow him to the grave. He would see to it that his little, five-year old brother did not die before him.

For now--he would just need to find a safe place for both of them. Somewhere he could protect his little brother at.

He gazed at the fire behind him--dancing in the wind like something greedy; unable to wait before consuming everything in its path.

The ten-year old looked down as his five-year-old brother; this was not the way he wanted the two to live like. He wanted his brother to live in peace; not the in the havoc that the city would bring them.

Which is where they had to go.

Funbari was the one place where Hao knew that there would not be many Shamans there...

Where the X-Law group could not, and would not find them.

They had exactly been the group to attack the Asakura family--the peaceful family that had used to work for the government, but--now that that any kind and all Shamans had been banished; killed for what they were--they were the only two left.

You see; there had been many attacks between one shaman and another because of the government. People were against--no, scared--of Shamans and their powers to communicate and use the spirits to fight.

Therefore; people had grown weary of them; fighting and killing them everywhere they went.

It was like a manhunt.

And Hao and Yoh were unfortunate to be caught in the middle of it.

Hao sighed as he secured his cloak on Yoh, who began to shiver, his eyes softening a bit. It was still sunrise--of course, the fire had began to spread early this morning. Hao was only lucky enough to get him out before his Otouto had been caught in it.

Yoh blinked open his eyes, his small teddy bear in one hand. "....Onii-chan?" He asked groggily as he yawned widely. He rubbed his eyes slowly with one hand before staring up at his older brother curiously.

The long-haired one stared down at his little brother and frowned, holding his brother even closer to him as he continued to shiver. "Yoh, go back to sleep." He said softly, continuing to walk away from the house.

The younger one paused. Why was Hao carrying him? Why wasn't he asleep, by his mother and fathers side; or even sleeping next to Hao? "Onii-chan... where are 'Tou-san and 'Kaa-san?"

Hao shut his eyes; knowing that the truth would hurt Yoh. Horribly. "Yoh... we won't be seeing them for a long time." He said as he bit his lip. It wasn't necessarily lying, but, at the same time, it was. He hated lying to Yoh... he knew that if his Otouto found out, he would _never_ forgive him.

Yoh's eyes widened. "What...? Why not?" He asked, his voice slowly choking. Yoh, personally, as young and innocent as he was at the moment; would not be able to take it if he was left alone without a mother or father. Or even Tamao; she had been a servant to the rich family, but, like a big sister to Yoh.

The 10-year-old paused. "We just have to leave for a while." He said as he attempted a small smile for his brother.

The younger one chocked again before hot tears began to fall. "When can we see them again?" He asked slowly as his small hands clung tightly to Hao's arm.

Hao shook his head. "...I don't know." He sighed as he paused from walking, trying anything to comfort his brother as he held him close. "But... it'll just be the two of us for a while."

Yoh paused. "....You won't leave me, will you?"

Hao shook his head. "Of course not."

The other brunette smiled. That was all he needed. He just wanted Hao to be there for him. He looked back behind him as Hao started walking again, clinging onto to him tightly.

...He wouldn't--no, couldn't look back.

**Tsuzuku**

For those who haven't read Seito's fics, here's some info on the AU:

_Shamans are hated_

_-There are many fights that break out between Shamans and the bad guys (have no idea who the bad guys are. Maybe a group of Shaman who are sent out to kill Shamans? Kinda like Witch Hunter Robin. Or like the X-laws haven't met them yet though. Dunno.)_

_-Hao and Yoh used to live a normal life (not including the fact that they knew they were shamans) until the bad guys found them. So they're on run so to speak. Have no idea what happened to any other family members._

_-Yoh doesn't have Amidamaru yet_

_-Hao is nicer but that's expect in an AU_

_-If the Spirit of Fire doesn't do so in the anime/manga, it feeds on souls_


	2. 2

**ChibiQueen****-Anna: **Sorry this took so long to update... ehehehe... I had a lot of fics I had to work on, too...  
**Seito: **So glad you like this! I hope you like the future chapters, too... And, you write a lot better than me! XD I love your fics... Ah... And I'll change the summary, too. Sorry about that!  
**Azalee: **lol! Yay! Seito writes really good fics... one of my favorite author's, actually.  
**Ren F: **Yeah... she writes really good stuff... Here's your update!  
**lilc: **I'm not even sure if I should reply to this... seeing as you don't have internet service anymore. ::jabs you:: Ah well. X3 And, my stuff sucks! Yours is a lot better!  
**chiaki: **Actually, I'm not sure. I'm still plotting out everything for this fic now that I'm working on everything again.  
**wingweaver22: **I've never seen that anime... but, I'd like to.  
**Chibi Ateriel Tsukai: **Thank you!  
**Shrimpy-lil-Shaman: **I like vicitimizing Yoh, despite him being my favorite character... ::Sweatdrops:: I'm abusive, aren't I? x3 Ahh... and your fics are really good...  
**tati1: **Here's the update! ::sweatdrops:: Sorry it took so long to get up...  
**RandomFlame: **Hehehehe... x3 I like your username. And, it's no problem!

-------------

**Chapter 2**

It was a small home, but, it'd do for now.

It was a wonder that Hao even found this place--the old, abandoned building which looked at if... it was about to be torn down.

It was... the only shelter they could find for now. It wasn't like Hao had any money left over from the family.

Everything had burnt in the very same fire that had killed their parents.

He sighed. If only he could reveal the truth to Yoh.... Perhaps later, though; he'd be horrified if he knew the truth. If he knew that he'd never really see his dear parents again. That he wouldn't see the girl Anna once more.

...Actually, Yoh might be happy to learn about that. She wasn't exactly the nicest girl living with them in the estate.

Hao's grip around Yoh's hand only tightened as he looked around. It would take a lot of work to make this into a decent shelter for the both of them.

But, more importantly... Yoh. Hao, of course, would do anything to make sure that his little brother made it through this... war alive and well. It saddened Hao to think that... his brother would never live a normal life due to the stupidity that non-shamans had. His fists clenched around the other's small hand at that thought.

Why was it that... they were so young, yet, so alone in this world...? It wasn't right, or fair.

It was a harsh lesson of life.

Hao and Yoh were just learning one of life's lessons early, he supposed.

Now--Hao was very, very smart for a mere ten year old. One could say that he was a prodigy.

It would have been wise, in fact, not to underestimate someone like Hao.

The said person continued to look around--whoever lived here must have died long ago. It was if... all their furniture was still there, yet, it hadn't been used for a while.

Yes--this would definitely do for now. Hao and Yoh could share different rooms... and hopefully... it'd keep them safe for now.

"Onii-chan." Yoh poked at him; yawning widely. "I'm bored..." His large, begging eyes looked up--only to meet Hao. "I'm going to look around, outside ok...?"

Hao paused at that before shaking his head. "Not now." He sighed. It'd be far too dangerous for Yoh to go outside allowed.

"Why not?" The other gave him a curious look. "We've been in here all day..." He whimpered slightly. He really wanted something to do; _anything_ to do.

He forced a smile at his brother--despite how he was feeling at the moment. "We'll both go outside in a little while, alright?"

Yoh pouted for a moment before finally nodding. Even though it'd mean he'd have to wait a little while longer... it'd be alright, if Hao was with him.

Hao sighed; his eyes saddening for a moment--did being strong for his brother mean that he would need to pretend to be happy as well...? He knew how miserable Yoh was at the moment... and Hao would have done anything to make sure his brother was happy once more.

Perhaps... it would comfort them both if Hao at least _tried_ to be happy.

He nodded. "Yeah..." He slowly smiled at his little brother--they could always get around to looking around this place later.

"Let's go, Yoh." He led his brother outside.

-------------

Cat-like eyes shone at the ruins in the forest in sympathy; the boy looked around the ruins for any chance of a survivor.

_...Who did they attack this time?_

Yes, this was clearly the results of what had happened was an attack from Shaman-to-Shaman.

_The X-Laws have been here..._

He sighed. It was a bit sad--Ren had never met a fellow Shaman in his life--with the exception of his family, but...

They were killed as well.

He clenched his fists at that. It had been a _fire_ that had killed his big sister; she had been the one to save him. And at the mere age of six, at that. He was ten now--and he had learned very well to survive on his own.

Tao Ren, of course... prepared the proper burial for his sister's body after the incident; he would have felt like a disgrace to the person whom had saved him if he _didn't_ do any kind of funeral, but... his other family members on the other hand--

Their bodies were never found.

It was a shame, really. Ren, however, wasn't completely devastated by the news.

...Not as devastated as he was when he knew that Jun was dead.

His future was shattered--the purple-haired boy was supposed to be the future leader of the Tao Clan, but...

It'd be a little hard if he was constantly running.

He clenched his fists. _I'll defeat those damn X-Laws and avenge 'Nee-san._ He hissed lightly under his breath, but, he never stopped walking--glaive in hand. _Mark my words._ It didn't matter if he didn't have a spirit with him yet, but... he'd get one eventually. No matter what it took--he'd grow stronger. That was all that mattered to him anymore.

That made it dangerous to be out... but, that didn't matter to him, either.

He'd make it--he _was_ Tao Ren, after all.

"Nnn..."

An eyebrow rose. _What was that...? _He looked in the direction of the noise; his eyes roving over the now-dead part of the forest, until blue hair had caught his eyes.

Two heads with blue hair, to be precise. It was a young girl and a young boy--holding each other close, as if they were trying to defend one another.

His eyes widened. _So **this** was what the X-Law's were looking for..._

Ren approached the two; looking at them both. They looked close to dead...

He went to feel the girl's pulse first; pausing for a few moments.

Nothing.

She was dead...

It was a pity. She looked so young... The X-Laws, however, weren't exactly the most merciless people in the world. If they could kill entire families--hundreds of them, in fact--of shaman... what was one more little girl to them...?

He reached out to feel the boy's pulse this time. He frowned deeply--this stranger couldn't have been any older than him. Ren's eyes widened. This was... too good to be a coincidence.

_He isn't dead, either..._ Ren sighed in a breath a relief; looking over to the side.

His eyes widened slightly upon seeing the small spirit. _A Koropokkuru..._ He slowly smirked at the thought. _He must be a Shaman as well._

It looked over at Ren in a worried way before disappearing once more. Perhaps... it was the way of the spirit showing that it trusted Ren in some way to save its master. He smirked. This was perfect--he had a Shaman to talk to--to travel with... and more importantly.

To train with, of course! He had to get stronger _somehow._

With that--he threw the boy over his shoulders; running out of the forest.

He was running out of time.

-------------

Hao and Yoh both walked through the city; the older one taking Yoh lightly by the hand as he lead him safely.

He frowned. _We both have to be careful. It's a small city.... I'm sure the government's looking for us now._

Hao had yet to learn _who _was doing these murders...but, that didn't matter to him; not now, anyways.

...He needed a spirit, first.

He clenched his fists.

_Tomorrow._

_I will find a spirit then._

Perhaps then... he'd be able to find who did this to his family and stop them.

...Before anything else happened to him and his brother.

The next step was a simple one for the two if they were caught again.

_Death will find us before anything else does._

**To be continued**

Yes... I killed off Pirika and Jun. Please don't kill me! ;.;

Short chapter... really sorry. ;.; I promise the next one will be longer. ::sighs:: Blame my finals... they're taking all of my free time.

Ehehehe... **Seito**, please tell me if you want me to change anything at all. n.n; I feel like I'm not giving your one-shots any justice at all...


	3. 3

**Juuchan: **You're the first one that's said anything about it. XD Thanks for telling me!  
**Ren F and Spirit of Darkness: **Glad you like this!  
**Lady Alexiel: **Here's your update! Your name sounds familiar...  
**Lady Elbereth Tealrose: **So true.... XD Poor Hao and Yoh. They never get off easy in my fics.  
**strife-lover: **I actually just killed them to add to the drama of this fic... I'm sure I made some people angry, though.  
**Chibi Atariel Tsukai: **No. I don't think Those other characters will even be in here...  
**Keeper of Yoh: **Yes they are. ;.;  
**Seito: **I think they're that good... XD Here's your update! (Ehehe... I'm just afraid I'm missing something from your other one-shots, that's all...)  
**haolover9312: **I have a lot of other fics to update, you know? But, thanks for reviewing.

-------------

**Chapter 3**

Asakura Hao had finally done it.

He had tamed his own spirit--finally gaining the power he needed to protect both him _and_ Yoh.

_Spirit of Fire..._

He stared at the burning ashes that it left behind, slowly smirking. This was perfect--it seemed strong enough to fight against the X-Laws, and, perhaps kill some of the members.

After all--it was a hunt, or be hunted situation.

However... _how_ he came to acquire and tame this mighty spirit is another story.

The creature starred down hungrily at the Hao, growling in a low tone--it was a signal that he needed souls.

That's what Hao had found out--that Spirit of Fire had to eat souls in order to grow stronger--or, should we say; _told_ him? After all; the two had a strong bond already.

Although Hao didn't like the idea of both killing and fighting, he had to do this.

He sighed and smiled slightly--jumping on top of the spirit of ease. "Let's go home, ok, Spirit of Fire?"

The spirit merely bowed its head in response, as if nodding.

It took flight then, never looking back at the remains of what it had destroyed.

-------------

Dark eyes fluttered open in both confusion and wariness--looking around the room weakly.

_Where am I...?_

The room was small, yes, but, it offered some comfort to him. It... reminded him of his home, almost. The nature-based theme; the small cozy bed.

But, it was empty. Where was everyone...?

And his sister?

_Pirika..._

At that, he sprung up. _Where is she?!_

Yes, he remembered what happened--although it was albeit blurry to him. He remembered that a strange group of men had attacked him. He remembered the strange girl who had leaded them to the attack.

He remembered his sister jumping into the fire--getting hurt instead of him.

"I see that you've finally awoken."

He looked around--his eyes meeting a boy standing at the doorway of this room--one not too older than him, in fact. Except--this boy wasn't Japanese. He had come from another country.

He frowned deeply; feeling overwhelmed by everything that was happening to him. "Where's my sister?" His hands clenched around his blanket.

If anything happened to her... he wouldn't know what to do. She _was_ his only family left. The rest, in fact, were still in Hokkaido.

Ren shook his head, sitting at the edge of his bed--his back turned to him. "I see you don't waste any time." He muttered--he had just _saved_ this stranger's life... and his only concern was his sister?

Besides... it's not like he _wanted_ to break the news to him. God only knew that he had gone through the loss of a family member before; what to do if he had to see another person go through this pain?

HoroHoro's frown only deepened, grabbing Ren's shoulder to turn him around. "_Where is she?_" His tone was serious--something not heard from him that often. His heartbeat quickened--why wasn't he answering him?

The Chinese boy slapped his hand away from his shoulder, standing. "Dead." He glanced at HoroHoro. "Don't bother looking for her body, though. I left it with the rest of the ruins. I doubt that it's safe to go back there, anyways. The X-Laws _will_ be looking for you. If they find you, they'll kill you." He shrugged, his tone and facial expressions indifferent. "I left it where it was." He walked out of the room, but, stopped once more.

"I suggest you rest. I know that this isn't easy to deal with."

And with that--he left, closing the door behind him.

He didn't want to see the other's reaction.

It didn't matter to him, either.

_He'll have to learn to toughen up._

_Now that he's being hunted, he has no other option._

-------------

Yoh ran happily with Hao. "Onii-chan! Hurry up!" He giggled to himself.

His older brother did as told--running to as he smiled happily. "Yes, yes." He shook his head.

Right now--there mind was off of any of the X-Laws, or people who might be looking for them now.

For the first time in a while--Hao had finally agreed to play with Yoh. To him, they had nothing to worry about, anyways. Not with Spirit of Fire.

They'd be able to live there life normally.

Yoh grinned. "We're almost there!" He pointed to a nearby park. "Come on!" _This_ was what Yoh loved doing with his brother--just spending time with him. This time... though... was more exciting for the young boy. Since they had left their home; Hao hadn't felt like doing much of anything with Yoh. Instead--he was out often, always leaving him behind.

And leaving Yoh heartbroken and lonely.

This, of course, had made up for all of that.

"I know!" Hao laughed, too. Just like Yoh--Hao loved doing things like this with him. It helped him forget about the horrible things that had happened to them in the past.

Yoh, continued to run--his pace only quickening as he continued to laugh.

He, however, didn't notice the rock that he soon tripped over, falling onto the ground.

"O-Ow..." He whimpered, slowly sitting as he sniffed. "My leg..."

"Yoh...?" Hao stopped, kneeling down beside him. "You alright? You're not hurt, are you?" He reached for his leg.

"It really hurts, Hao..." Yoh's eyes filled with tears--sniffing as he looked at his leg. It _really_ didn't hurt that much, but, to Yoh--he had never exactly experienced that much pain before.

His older brother slowly smiled, reaching for Yoh's hand. "Come on." He offered to help Yoh up. "We'll go sit down for a while, ok?"

The five-year old slowly nodded, still sniffing as he took Hao's hand into his own. "A-Alright." He slowly stood--with his brother's help, of course.

He noticed after that, his brother's expression had changed--looking ahead of them. "Onii-chan?" He blinked. "What's wrong?" His glance followed the direction of Hao's; only to meet the stares of a group of other strangers.

His eyes widened. "H-Hao? Who are they?"

Hao didn't look at Yoh. "Go hide, Otouto."

"But..." Yoh bit his bottom lip. He didn't want to leave his brother's side.

The other sighed before offering him a smile, finally looking down at him. "Everything will be alright. Just... go hide, ok?" _I don't want you to get hurt..._

The other than nodded, sending the X-Laws one more glance before running.

However--he did not leave the park.

He wouldn't leave--not until he knew what was happening.

Iron Maiden Jeanne slowly smiled. "You're protecting your younger brother and sacrificing yourself for him? How generous of you." She shot him a serene look. "However, this doesn't mean that God will have pity on your souls. We _will_ track him down when we're done with you."

Hao sent her a glare, hissing sharply under his breath as he snapped his fingers--the fiery spirit appearing. "You won't lay a finger on him; not while I'm here to protect him." He was ready to give up his life--if only to get rid of the X-Laws.

Marco frowned deeply at him before starring at the Spirit. "Jeanne-sama." He whispered. "Denbat and Meene can both deal with this spirit. It seems weak."

Jeanne slowly nodded. "This sinner deserves nothing else but to be punished by those two." She began to turn. "Meene. Denbat. Stay here, please. We must find the other Asakura sibling."

The others nodded, frowning deeply--their eyes hinting both confidence and fear. Sure, they believed they could take this spirit on... then again... who knew? They had never faced a spirit such as this one before--just... small ones. "Yes, Jeanne-sama." They both nodded, aiming their guns at Hao.

Hao watched the rest of the group leave, slowly smirking. "Only two, eh? I can deal with you." He jumped onto Spirit of Fire, his fists slowly clenching. He... didn't want to kill anyone, but, did he have a choice right now...?

If he died--so did Yoh.

He wasn't about to let that happen.

He _would_ avenge their parents death.

...Starting with these two.

"Spirit of Fire." He looked at him. "You're hungry, aren't you?" He sat on his shoulders.

Yoh's eyes widened--along with the other. What was Hao going to do...?

He received a low growl in response, nodding his head once more.

Hao snapped his fingers once more. "...Burn them."

His younger brother, however, sprung up from where he was hiding, his eyes wide in horror. Hao... wasn't planning on killing them, was he...?

"Onii-chan! _Stop!_ Don't kill them!" He pleaded. Yoh didn't want to see anyone die! If he killed them--it would have been just as bad as when they burned their home down!

His eyes filled with tears when he saw the two go up in flames, Hao's glance looking to Yoh; his eyes saddening greatly.

Yoh's eyes filled with tears, covering them. He couldn't believe what he had just seen.

At five--he had seen his brother commit murder.

For another, at ten--for the first time; blood had stained Asakura Hao's hands.

And for the first time in his life--he had shed tears.

**To be continued**

Lots of HaoYoh fluff should be in the next chapter (just... without the kissing). :D Yay... look forward to that.

Dark chapter, ne...? It'll be a bit more humorous in the next one.


	4. 4

**frozenmagicfire**Thank you! X3 I'll have to check out your fics later...  
**Bloody Cross: **Thanks!  
**haolover9312: **Yep, this chapter will be fluffy!  
**Chibi Atariel Tsukai: **Yeah. ;.; Poor Yoh and Hao...  
**strife-lover: **Yay! I really like writing HoroRen and HaoYoh...  
**Azalee**XD It is, isn't it? No, you didn't review the last chapter, but... thank you for reviewing this one! I'll do those things... more fluff between Hao and Yoh and Horo and Ren!  
**SPUW Comander, Ruler of the eastern hemisphere, whatever!'s brother: **Thank you! XD What a long username...  
**Seito:dies** laughing: XD Glad you liked the chapter! I'll try to make it... less depressing. o.o  
**tati1: **It's alright:D Here's an update!  
**sasha**Thank you!

-

**Chapter 4**

Yoh didn't understand why or how someone like his brother could come to control a beast such as Spirit of Fire, or, why he would want to control a spirit like that. He could have taken any spirit, _any_ at all-and he had chosen such a scary looking one.

The thought that terrified him the most was that Hao was capable of committing such acts as he did. To murder another human being. Sure-anyone would be surprised that a child like Yoh could understand the meaning of death; especially when he had no idea of what had happened to his parents at the moment. It was a day that one of their dear loved pets died that he understood what it was to be murdered and to die.

But... he had yet to see another human being die. At least-not until today.

Right now; he was silent as he and Hao both walked home-hand in hand. Hao had tried to explain many times to Yoh that there was no choice in the matter; that, if he hadn't done anything, something worse would have happened to the both of them.

The thought only terrified Yoh further.

Hao starred at Yoh sadly; feeling guiltier than he had ever felt before. If only Yoh could understand what the situation was. If it wasn't the thought of him taking a life himself; it was the thought that he had let the only person still close to him; the only person still keeping him sane down.

"Yoh..." He began, not looking at him. "Sorry." That was it-those three words that cost him his dignity, but, he didn't want to see his brother like this.

Yoh looked up at him with sad eyes; squeezing Hao's hand in a comforting sort of way. "It's alright, Onii-chan." He whispered, tears filling his eyes once more. "But..."

"But...?" Hao raised an eyebrow.

Yoh sent him a glare. "Don't hurt anymore people, Onii-chan." He said in a stern voice, but, this sounded odd for a child that was so young. "You're just as bad as other people that hurt others when you do that."

His older brother paused at that before chuckling lightly; getting on his knees to face Yoh finally and patting him on the head in an affectionate manner. "I won't hurt anyone unless I have to, Otouto." He said calmly.

His glare only hardened. "Just because you have to, doesn't mean you should!" He pouted.

Hao paused at that before laughing once more. "No, I won't hurt anyone." _At least not in front of Yoh... I can't let hum see anymore deaths._

Yoh paused. Hao wasn't known for being a liar, but, that didn't change the fact that Yoh was still uncertain about this. He'd definitely be even more upset with Hao if he saw anymore deaths from him. He... had to prevent that happening at all costs. "...Are you sure? Do you promise?"

Hao blinked. _Promise...?_ When he lived in the estate, he couldn't keep a promise. What made him so sure that he would be able to keep a promise now...?

_Well, maybe it wouldn't hurt to try... _

He nodded and stood again. "Aah. Promise, Yoh." He smiled slightly at his brother. "Come on; we have a while to walk before we can rest again."

Yoh sighed. "...Where are we going now?"

Hao frowned at that. "Somewhere new. It'll be nicer from where we last were."

The long-haired brunet knew very well that to be safe-they would need to move once more. Who knew when their would be more ambushes made...?

The area they were moving to this time, however, was a peaceful part of Funbari, Tokyo-the old abandoned Enn Inn would perhaps give them the quiet they had deserved. The place, of course, had been rumored to be haunted... explaining _why_ it was abandoned.

This, of course-would not bother Hao or Yoh. They were used to seeing spirits, of course.

Maybe... this would be the chance for them to acquire new spirits; to improve on their Shamanic powers.

Hao would have to keep Spirit of Fire beside him, no doubt-feeding him the souls he needed to keep the spirit alive and thriving until Hao could finally find a place where Yoh and Hao could... just live without any fear.

Wherever this place might be.

-

Tao Ren walked along the quiet streets of Funbari, Bason floating behind him loyally.

It was his favorite time of the day-night time. This being because it was the time of the day when he felt most at peace. It was the time of the day when he felt most relaxed.

It was the only time would he could watch the stars-understanding and appreciating nature as a Shaman.

Tonight, though-he couldn't think clearly.

He was still thinking about HoroHoro. For some reason-the thought of the Ainu would not leave his mind. He had to admit... the way he had been to him in his time of need made him feel slightly guilty.

Bason clasped his hands together, his eyes sparkling. "Bocchama's still thinking about that boy, isn't he? How cute-"

The purple-haired boy twitched, pointing his glaive at the spirit. "Keep your mouth shut, Bason. You're supposed to be a _warlord_, not a _fangirl_."

The spirit cried waterfall tears. "Of course, Bocchama..." He tried his best to keep silent, but, he continued to smile slightly to himself. The thought of his master caring about anyone other than him or his sister made him happy.

He cursed under his breath. _He'll get over it. If I can get over the death of **my** sister, he can get over the death of him._

He paused. _But... maybe it wouldn't hurt to just help him get back on his feet. Just until then. I can very easily get rid of his then._

Ren nodded to himself.

That was it.

He wouldn't have to have the Ainu stay with him any longer than that.

As Ren the almost-empty street (with the exception of two other boys); finally coming to a resolve.

Tonight, before it got too late-he would talk to HoroHoro, and, hopefully he would be able to make a better impression on him.

Sure, Ren could be cold hearted-sometimes.

Wait, no, scratch that. Ren was cold-hearted _most_ of the time. It was just his nature, he supposed.

...But, he could be kind, too.

...Sometimes.

-

Hao and Yoh were currently walking together-yes, they were still walking together to find their new home.

Hao, however, stiffened when the long-haired boy had walked passed him. If it was anyone else-any other stranger at all-he would have brushed his off as if it was nothing.

...The boy wasn't alone.

On the contrary-he had... a spirit traveling with him. A Chinese warlord, to be exact.

His eyes were widened slightly in shock. _There are... more Shamans in __Tokyo__ besides me and Yoh?_

This surprised him, but, at the same time-it made him feel very relieved.

He turned to talk to him, and, perhaps greet him-that is, until Yoh tugged on his hand.

"Onii-chan." He yawned. "I'm tired. Can't we rest for a bit...?"

The pyromaniac slowly turned and nodded; smiling slightly. The idea wasn't too bad, actually. The graveyard was nearby; it would be a perfect place for them to just... rest for a while.

"Sure." He began walking once more, taking Yoh along with him. "We can rest in a bit, Otouto."

He then turned his glance once more where Ren had been standing-a smirk slowly forming on his face.

_...Ah well. We'll meet again... soon._

-

Usui HoroHoro sighed as he sat on his bed, still in much shock from the news that was brought to him earlier. He had never lost... anyone close to him before.

He was supposed to move from Hokkaido to Tokyo for hopes of a better life; not to _lose_ something.

And yet, that was precisely what had happened to him.

HoroHoro was the type to get so depressed... and yet, he was.

He sighed deeply-cupping his cheeks as he thought about the earlier encounter he had with the purple-haired boy.

That was... strange, to say the least. He still didn't know what the heck he was doing here-or who the stranger was, but... he was still willing to let him stay there.

_Hmm..._

He grinned slightly.

...At least he could freeload in the house without being yelled at for once..

The blue-haired Ainu paused, however; when the door to his room opened, twitching slightly. The door had been closed for a reason, and-

Wait a minute.

"You again?" HoroHoro twitched. He didn't exactly want to see anyone at the moment, much less someone like Ren.

...Even though he _was_ offering shelter.

Ren frowned at that. "I came in here to help you, and, that's all you have to say for yourself?" An eyebrow rose.

HoroHoro looked at him in the same fashion. Really, what was he expecting...? "You want to help me?" He snorted. "Last time I remembered; you wanted me to leave as soon as I found a place to stay at." He crossed his arms.

The Chinese twitched once more-approaching HoroHoro and sitting next to him on the bed. "I'll help you." He said simply. "It's not like I haven't lost a love one before." He frowned. _Except-I was alone then. He's lucky that I'm doing this._ "I'll... help you until you can get back on your feet." He looked down; refusing to look at HoroHoro's shocked face. "After that... you're on your own." He shrugged before smirking. "I doubt you'd be able to protect yourself so easily with a mere Koropokkuru."

HoroHoro held himself back from yelling at him. After all, Ren _was_ trying to help... He shrugged. "I won't stop you if you want to help me." His mouth twitched slightly. "And of course she's powerful enough to defend me!" He crossed his arms. "You're a Shaman too, aren't you!" He stood up and grabbed his snowboard. "Then I can prove to you she's powerful! More power than that damn excuse for a ghost _you_ have!" He smirked at that.

The other boy's mouth twitched into a slight smile. _A Shaman fight, huh...?_ "That doesn't sound bad." Ren nodded and began to walk out. "Fight me outside, then." He smirked widely.

...This would definitely prove to be interesting.

-

The stars twinkled brightly that night as Asakura Hao-for the first time in a while; looked at them in peace.

He then starred down below him; sighing before smiling. Yoh... had fallen asleep on his lap; currently, Hao was sitting cross-legged, and, Yoh? He was sleeping on his back; his face directing straight at the stars.. _He... really was tired._

Hao sighed., continuing to contemplate. However, this time, he wasn't merely just contemplating on his future; this matter was far too greater than that.

...Was this so wrong...? To want to be near your brother _so_ badly? To want to be more than just a mere brother to him?

At the innocent age of 10-he sure felt that way. It was an odd feeling; but, he said that it deepened on age, or the person-to determine whom and when you fell in love...?

Nothing.

If truly didn't have any boundaries, than, this was the proof.

Was it wrong to love your only brother...? The one younger, more innocent than you?

He leaned down; his hand lightly brushing through Yoh's hair as he slowly smiled once more, laying down; observing the stars once more.

_Love you, Yoh..._

His eyes closed slowly; leaving all thoughts of the world behind him. His mind was only on one person.

...As it always was.

**To be continued**

Seito, you don't mind if I throw MarcoxLyserg in here, do you? I can see it working out pretty well in this...

And, I will angst Hao later... muahahah. :3 Possibility of making them older soon.


	5. 5

**Chapter 5**

Emerald eyes stared into crimson-colored ones-one pair saddened.

The boy was almost afraid to ask what happened.

Lyserg Diethyl had been left behind again for yet another mission-well... it was an unfinished mission, but, still; he had been left behind again. Merely because he wasn't strong enough to finish off this certain shaman on his own.

But that didn't matter now-something was clearly wrong with Jeanne and the others, and, no one would speak up.

Currently, he was in Jeanne's room-she had invited him in there; although Marco was certainly against it. No matter how close he was to the young boy; there would be no way he could trust _anyone_-and that included Lyserg-with someone such a Jeanne.

It wasn't the fact that she was merely their holy maiden; the pure, untouched leader of there group, but, it was that he was also his adoptive daughter as well. No one knew this-the news hadn't bothered to be revealed to anyone yet.

"Jeanne-sama..." Lyserg bit his bottom lip, standing before her. "What happened? Everyone seems so depressed... I..." His voice trailed off; looking at her in a begging manner.

For a moment, she said nothing-her eyes were closed. For the second time in Jeanne's life; she... had lost a loved one. This, of course, had been devastating to the entire group.

The X-Laws were like family to her; and, now two of them were dead. "...Two of our fellow members have died." Despite some shakiness in her voice, it was still serene, calm.

His eyes widened. "...What?" His voice shook. Lyserg could hardly believe it. _This_ group; the powerful, unstoppable X-Law group...? Two of their members killed...?

No one would have ever thought this would happen.

Lyserg's eyes softened as he sat down next to her; placing a comforting hand on her shoulder slowly, softly. Even if she was their holy maiden, she was still a little girl, too-one that wasn't ready to face death.

For a girl that was only eight... she _couldn't_ have been ready for any of her family to die.

"Lyserg..." She began, biting back her tears. "Thank you." She smiled slightly at him. "And... I'm sorry. I should've have stopped him-"

"It wasn't your fault." He hesitantly patted her shoulder soothingly, trying to stop her from crying; praying that Marco wouldn't catch them like this. He would _kill_ Lyserg. "Who did this...?"

She tried to remain calm; hesitant to answer for a moment. "One of the Asakura's." She starred at him in a bit of a serene manner.

"Asakura Hao." She stood, her eyes hardening slightly; resolve was coming to her. Of course, she had thought about this long enough. It was only right for them to correct what injustice was in the world, right? It was the reason for the existence of their group, anyways.

"Action _will_ be taken for their sins." Her eyes flared with determination.

"If it's the last thing I do, the twins will be eliminated." She paused; contemplating once more. Hao's spirit was power, much more than they had imagined it would be... in fact, they hadn't even know his power had been awoken.

They would have to find a way to stop him, first.

"...As soon as we find a weakness for Asakura Hao's spirit, we'll make our next move."

Lyserg paused. She wasn't going to go back into the iron maiden, was she...?

"J-Jeanne-sama...?"

She continued walking. "Yes, Lyserg?"

"...You're not going into the iron maiden already, are you?" She shouldn't be stressing her body anymore than she had been already.

Jeanne closed her eyes. "Yes." She wanted to avenge their deaths. "Although sacrifice is sometimes necessary..." She frowned deeply. "They were killed unjustly." She turned to face him. "We will avenge their deaths. For now, we can only prepare."

The boy paused; his heart fell at that. "Y-Yes, Jeanne-sama..."

**-**

Ren breathed deeply as he fought to catch his breath, his Oversoul dissipating. The fight with HoroHoro had just finished their Shaman Fight-their spirits now at their side once more.

He smiled slightly. It had been so long since he had fought anyone else; all he had done for years is train. It was a refreshing feeling-he could finally bring his anger out in another way besides training.

...And it was a way of him knowing that he wasn't alone.

He sighed, smirking at the Ainu. Although he had fought hard, Ren had won. "Not bad, Ainu-baka." Yes, HoroHoro had developed a nickname as well. From the few times they had talked to one another, they... felt like they knew each other well.

It might have been instinct between the two or, as Ren's sister would have said:

It was destiny.

HoroHoro twitched at that comment. "Baka!" He snorted, pointing an accusing finger at the Chinese boy. "You might have one, but, you only won by a hair!" The tiny spirit beside him nodded quickly in agreement; shaking her tiny fist in the same nature as HoroHoro was. "Next time, you won't be so lucky!"

His smirk only widened. "Is that another challenge?"

The blue-haired boy was about to nod quickly, but, stopped when he heard his stomach grumble. "...After I get some food in my stomach." He patted the said body part.

Ren could only shake his head, biting back his laughter in response.

-

Ren cooked calmly as HoroHoro watched him-cupping his cheeks; his elbows on the counter.

He had agreed to cook for the two of them; although HoroHoro had knew how to cook for his sister before, the Chinese shaman refused to let anyone go through and cook in _his_ kitchen. Everything was in its proper place, and, he didn't need it to get messed up by a complete stranger.

The silence between them was an awkward one.

"...You seem happier." Ren was referring to how HoroHoro was acting earlier.

The Ainu shaman frowned at that. Did he need to bring that up now? His sister's death had left his mind for the moment; letting him enjoy himself for the first time since that week.

He might seem happier, but, inwardly, his heart still felt like it had been twisted in too.

Part of his life was gone; like it had just vanished.

"Because I didn't want to think about it." He muttered under his breath.

Ren sighed at that. "Think about it now." His voice was stern as he sat to set the table. "It'll only come back and hit you harder later."

The Ainu frowned. A change of subject would be good right about now...

"What did you cook?" He sat at the table, grinning widely. Food was definitely the thing to cheer him up right about now. He hadn't eaten all day, so, he was _starving_. Why didn't Ren eat until now, anyways...? How could he go that long without food?

His glance lifted to stare at Ren as he got up again.

_...No wonder he looks so anorexic._ He snorted inwardly.

But, really-that still didn't give him an explanation of why Ren had those... those... _womanly_ hips.

...Actually, Ren didn't look half-bad for a guy; just give him a dress, and he'd make a _perfect_ girl.

HoroHoro flushed lightly at the thought, shaking his head quickly inwardly.

_He's a guy! Just because he looks like a girl doesn't mean anything!_

He took the plate that Ren handed him; frowning once more.

The more he thought about Ren, the more anxious it made him feels-he certainly had mixed feelings about the boy. As much as he disliked his attitude, he couldn't hate him, either.

If it wasn't for Ren... HoroHoro might have been dead; joining his sister in the afterlife.

He saddened at the thought.

No, he would go on; not for him.

But, for her.

...And Ren as well.

He owed him at least that.

-

Lyserg stood outside of Jeanne's room-contemplating on what he had been told earlier.

...Two of his only friends were dead.

He clenched his fists at this thought. Out of the entire shaman they had gone after; _nothing_ like this had happened. What could have suddenly made Hao so powerful that he could kill their comrades...?

_We should be stronger than this._ He thought with a bitter frown touching his features. _The government's responsibility should be to make sure we survive through there requests..._

That's right; every X-Law member owned the rights to one of the archangels-heavenly-looking spirits with a lot of power; some of which that could even be compared to God-class spirits.

He cupped his cheeks, his eyes sad. _But... I haven't gotten any power yet, either. I'm still weak._

He weakly smiled at Morphine, his primary spirit, as she flew around his head in concern. "I'm alright, Morphine." He reassured her quickly. "You don't have to worry about me..." His eyes saddened once more. Really-he shouldn't be thinking about getting another spirit! Not when he still had the fairy-like spirit on his side. She was a gift from his father-a dear friend, as well. He should have more faith in her to bring him power.

"I would say otherwise."

Lyserg looked up at that, not being able to suppress the smile that appeared on his features again. "What do you mean, Marco-san?"

Marco looked down at the boy, frowning. Really, how many times had he asked Lyserg to drop the respect...? They were together-and not just as friends-now. It wouldn't make any sense for Lyserg to keep using 'san' in his name...

"You're not a very good liar, Lyserg."

The other laughed quietly at that, smiling when he felt too hands wrap around him in a comforting embrace. "I... know... but..."

"She told you, didn't she...? They're dead."

"I-I know." The tears came again. How many times had he told himself not to cry...? Or, at least not in front of Marco or Jeanne, anyways. "But..."

A sigh. "I know." Marco said quietly, looking down at him; pulling Lyserg closer; whom sighed contently in response.

There was silence after that; Lyserg enjoying being in Marco's arms again. _This_ was what he needed-to be held; to be loved by someone.

It was like being held in the arms of an angel.

He smiled slightly at that; remembering how exactly he came to join the X-Laws.

**-**

_Lyserg Diethyl looked around the city nervously. Where was the bar, anyways? He had said that it would be nearby..._

_...But he was still new to __Japan__. He had no idea where he was going; or where he would end up._

_All he knew was that he was supposed to meet the strange man he had met only yesterday at the local bar; late at night. According to him, they would need to talk in private, and, the only area they could do that in was in the said place._

_Now, one would wonder why this boy-Lyserg Diethyl had put trust in a complete stranger, wouldn't they?_

_It had been simple, really. The only thing he had to do was mention his parents, and, he was just about ready to do anything to find out more about the blonde-haired man._

_Marco, he had called himself-had specifically said that Lyserg would be able to achieve revenge if he followed him._

_How he knew all that, remains a mystery to him. It was the reason why it was so important that he talk to the man. He could have been the answer to his entire problem._

_But he was also taking a risk; it could be the start of new problems as well._

_He took in a breath._

_That was a risk he'd just have to take. If it was for his parents, he'd do anything for them._

_He paused when he realized where he was._

_'Is... This it...?' He ran a hand through his soft, emerald-colored hair and sighed._

_How did he expect him to get in...? Lyserg was only fourteen-although most would mistake him for being younger-he was way under the age when he could get into a place like this._

_"I see that you made it."_

_Lyserg blinked, turning around-only to find himself face-to-face with who he had come to meet._

_He nearly jumped. What the man trying to give him a heart attack?_

_The man smiled slightly at that. "Come one." He gestured to the nearby building. "Everyone's waiting for you."_

_"Ok-wait, what?" What did he mean by 'everyone'?_

_"The rest of the group."_

_...Ok. That certainly didn't help..._

_However, he followed anyways. This **was** for the sake of his parents, after all._

_"Lyserg."__ Marco turned to glance at him. "I understand that you're an orphan, correct?"_

_His eyes hardened at that; his fists clenching. "Yes, sir." Did he have to bring **that** up? It was depressing._

_The man was silent after that-contemplating._

_"...Do you realize that shamans were the one's who set this fire on your home?" That's right; Lyserg's parents had died in a fire._

_"I-I know." He looked down. "What does that have to do with anything...?" He stopped walking. He didn't exactly enjoy talking about the deaths of others; and, what **did** shamans have to do with the conversations? He was a shaman himself-trying to become stronger in order to find whomever killed his parents and killing them; avenging their deaths._

_Marco smirked a little at that, stepping into the bar. "Do you realize what this group could help you do?"_

_He slowly nodded. "You did, sir, but..." Marco hadn't answered his questions._

_Marco turned, staring at him in a serious manner. "Join us." He said calmly. "And we'll avenge your parents." He paused, deciding to try to explain this in a better manner. "We can find who killed your parents." The blonde-haired man extended a hand. "We must kill these sinners together."_

_Lyserg bit his lower lip. Join their group...? He didn't even know anything about it in the first place. How should he know what they were planning? How could he even know if this would be the right thing to do...?_

_He didn't know these people, or what exactly the organization was for; he only knew one thing:_

_If this was the key to getting what he wanted; to become stronger-he'd have to take this chance **now**. He might not have another one like this._

_More importantly; is this what his father would want him to do...?_

_'He wanted me to be happy.' Lyserg sighed. 'If I know who killed him-if I can put these criminals to justice, I'll be happy.'_

_Lyserg had no other choice._

_He reached up, taking the stranger's hand into his own._

**To be continued.**

**Author's notes:**

Umm... this chapter was a bit hard for me to write... seeing as I had just recently dealt with death myself... I'm sorry that it took me so long to update...

For those looking for the HaoYoh parts of this chapter-go read Seito's _Still Waiting_ one-shot. :) That's the part that took place here. I'm not going to post the one-shot into this fiction, because that might be repetitive to those who've read that story before.

As for the HoroHoroxRen part-no, I didn't think I should do the fight. The fight was pretty pointless in the plot; and I think I did a lot for those two in this chapter.

Meh... not so happy with this fic so far. :) Maybe when I redeem the X-Laws a bit more, it'll be better.

I'll be concentrating a bit more on HoroHoroxRen for the next few chapters; rather than HaoxYoh. But, don't worry! I'll have one chapter just for those two to make up for that. XD

So glad you all enjoy this though! Thank you for reading!

And on a random note:sings to Asterisk: _Bleach_ is so awesome. :fangirls:

**Replies to reviews: **

**Azalee**Yes! ph33r Bason! lol! XD He's always been one of my favorites... he acts more like a mother than a warrior.

And thank you for reviewing my fanfictions so much. :3 And I saw on your list you like HaoHoro? That couple's fun. X3 Mostly because of the fire and ice factor... and their completely different personalities. o.o

I think I'll try writing it someday... if it's not _too_ OOC. o.O Then again, it takes some bad fics to get the hang of a pairing sometimes...

And, would you have any messenging service I can add you under? It'd be really nice to talk to you... :)

**Lady Elbereth Tealrose: **lol! XD Hao **is** a girly little man, but, that's why he loved him. :D Besides the fact that he's got an awesome outfit and hair that would make anyone jealous. o.O

To your 'flame': j00 SUCK YOU STUPID REVIEWER!ONEONE! YOU WRITE HAO/YOH YOURSELF IF IT'S SO HORRIBLE. XO

That was fun. XD Don't worry... it's enough that you enjoyed the fic. :3

**the**** moon at twilight: **The older they are, the more smexier they get, muahahah...

MarcoxLys is _very_ good. No one can actually see that that pairing can redeem Marco. Poor guy... he's so unloved...

As for HoroHoroxRen; I'm not the best at writing that pairing, so, please be patient with me. :3

Ugh. I know. I don't proofread at all. Mostly because I already know what I've written, and, I'm too lazy to go back and check everything. I'm trying to make it a habit to proofread my writing, though-just to prevent stupid mistakes.

**Jen-Tao07, wingweaver22, SonnyGoten: **So glad you liked this!

**Seito: **Hehehehehe. :D Really happy you like this. :) Remember to just tell me if you want anything changed at all. XO I don't mind going back and editing things.

Yay! Fluff! It's good for the soul... I love writing HaoYoh fluff... :sigh:

MarcoLys isn't a bad pairing; it's cute. :3 Many people wouldn't agree with me, though, those two characters aren't very loved in this fandom.

As for you not having access to episodes... if you have DSL and AIM, I can send the original Japanese fan subbed version to you.

And... uh... I have a lot of ideas for the HaoYoh part of this fiction that you might not want. Please IM me at **Yoh Luvs Oranges** or **e-mail** **me** so I can tell you what I mean; or if you just don't care, please tell me in a review. XD

**Kagome-reincarnation: **I'm really flattered you like this, but... would you mind telling me why you think it's creepy? I don't mind getting CC on my fics, but, I would like explanations behind those.

**Chibi Atariel Tsukai: **It says in the summary it's HaoYoh. :3 lol! Yay! HaoYoh has consumed someone else's soul... muahaha. (I laugh too much. XD)

**Hellfire Phoenix: **Hao is ten and Yoh is five. :3 That's one reason why I plan on making them older in a few chapters. They can't do much if they're that young... I wouldn't want to make two children molest each other. o.O That'd be weird and... wrong.

**Keeper of Yoh: **Oh yay:3 Nothing can beat fluff, right? Except for... smut. But that's just me. I live for smut. X3 Actually... I live for both. o.O But you write fluff so much better than me. XO I should stick with smut...

Do you still want me to call you:D

**tati1: **Studying really stinks. :sighs: I don't study... it tends to fry my brain...

Glad you think it's cute. :3 I'm so happy people like this!

**Anonymoose: **XD Would you call this a 'guilty pleasure'? Ahahaha... I actually like it and thinks it's a bit funny, too, and I'm torturing my favorite characters. o.O :has a sick twisted sense of humor:

As for your question-it was Seito's idea. In my opinion, it certainly helps to make the fiction more original. There hasn't been a HaoYoh fiction written yet when they aren't twins, but, still related.

No, I don't think it'd affect the fanfiction if they were the same age. Hao and Yoh actually might be closer in way if they were twins-seeing as twins seem to share the same emotions and same dreams... not to mention that twins seem to be like best friends most of the time when they're little. :3


	6. 6

**Chapter 6**

Hao eyed Yoh as he walked along the inn; twitching lightly. "...Yoh." He began slowly. "What is _that_?" He pointed to the spirit following behind his brother like a lost puppy following a stranger. He had seen the brunet talking to the spirit before, but, he had _never_ seen it following behind Yoh like that before.

The innocent boy blinked, looking at Amidamaru and grinning widely at himlike a little kid that had just received a bag full of candy. "That's Amidamaru, Onii-chan!" He laughed. "He said he'd help me!"

Amidamaru nodded. "I will serve Yoh-dono loyally, Hao-dono." He smiled at the little kid. Really, this had been the first time he had come across someone he could see him, and look at him without any fear at all.

It was a relief.

As for Mosukehis new master had sworn he would help him track his friend down; that his older brother would help them.

That was enough for him.

And with the world as it was right noweveryone would need as much help and protection as they could get; and since Yoh was going to take him to Harusame, the place where it had been said to have been haunted, then he would protect Yoh with his lifeerr... afterlife.

An eyebrow shot up. _Protection...?_ Hao merely nodded. Perhaps this wouldn't be such a bad idea... Yoh could continue the little training he had received in the Asakura estate now.

"I see." He smiled lightly at his brother before turning to face Amidamaru. "Protection, huh?" He paused. "And what, exactly, do you want in return?" If there was one thing Hao knewit was that everything had a catch to it.

This couldn't be any different.

The spirit paused at that. What did he want in return? It was simple.

If Yoh was telling the truth, he would stay with him.

If they could not find Mosuke, he would go back to waiting for him the cemeteryhoping for their reunion.

"You were waiting for someone, correct?"

Amidamaru was taken speechless; how could this boy know so much about him...?

Once again, an eyebrow shot up. "I've heard a lot of things about you, Amidamaru." He shook his head; getting straight to the point. He knew exactly where to lookwhen spirits died, and if they had an attachment to something, they would remain on earth.

The question was; if Hao helped Amidamaru do this, would he go onto the next world...?

That wouldn't be very samurai-like, but, they would have to wait and see.

He turned, heading for the front door.

"Yoh, you stay here where it's safe."

His glance turned to Amidamaru.

"Follow me."

-

"How's Jeanne-sama doing?"

This was the question that the rest of the group had asked Lyserg as soon as he had left her room, and went into the living room of their living area.

He sighed and shrugged. "Not so good." He bit his lower lip; thinking about how she had gone into the iron maiden earlier. "She's... stressing her body a lot." He sighed, clenching his fists.

Marco frowned lightly at that. "She knows what she's doing." His tone was a serious one.

Venstar nodded at that. "Jeanne-sama had said before that action must be taken for what sins the Asakura siblings had committed. Murder is the greatest of all sins."

The rest of the X-Laws nodded in agreement; Lyserg, however, could only look on in shock.

_What about the countless people we've killed? _He couldn't help but think about that. Sure, he was in the group to look for the people who had murdered his parents; but... was this group really doing the right thing?

They were shamans themselves, weren't they...?

Marco starred at Lyserg. "We'll wait until she comes out of the iron maiden." He paused. "Until then, just wait, Lyserg." This was an order, not a request.

The other gulped, slowly nodding. "Yes, sir..."

-

"Is this it?" Hao was pointing at the rusted katana; the one that had been rumored to have been used by this spirit; this town legend.

Amidamaru's eyes widened as he starred intently at the blade. "It is!" He exclaimed. "How did you"

"It's a town legend." He looked on in a bored manner. "Supposedly, the blade was haunted, but, since spirits have been exercised, he might be gone by now."

The spirit froze at that. _Mosuke... gone...?_

Hao frowned, crossing his arms as he waited for Amidamaru to get over the shock, slowly glancing at the counter as he saw something shift beside it.

His frown only deepened; but he didn't bother moving.

Really, didn't people ever learn to listen to him?

- (Yoh's PoV) -

What's Onii-chan doing with Amidamaru? I can't really see from here. They're talking about the sword, but... what about his friend? I promised him that we would find his friend. I don't like breaking promises; that makes people sad. I don't like seeing people sad.

I held my breath when Hao turned. Uh-oh! If he finds me hiding, he'll get angry. When Hao gets angry, I get really scared. Hao can be really different when he gets angry... but he's never gotten mad at me before.

He told me to stay at home, but... I don't want to be alone. I get sad when Onii-chan's not with me... he always leaves at night, but, he never tells me why.

But, I wanted to see Amidamaru some more! He's fun to be with. I hope he finds his friend soon... Not being with friends and family is really sad. I wish I see Aunt Tamao soon. And Aunt Anna, too. They were really nice. I miss them. But Onii-chan says that we'll see them again someday!

I like being with Hao, though. Being around him makes me really happy. He's the best big brother ever!

I still feel really weird when I'm around him... kinda like how I feel around Aunt Tamao and Aunt Anna... But it feels better. Kinda like how you feel when you find something really nice; like when 'Kaa-chan makes me hot chocolate on a cold day.

I frown and listen to their conversation. What are they talking about? Amidamaru sounds really sad... I hate it when people are sad...

I wonder if Hao will keep playing those games with me... I can do Hyoui Gattai now, which is really cool! For some reason it makes me really sleepy... But it's still fun! I want to do it again today!

I blink when I suddenly feel strange. Like I'm about to sneeze.

I quickly cover my mouth. If I sneeze, they'll catch me!

- _(Normal Point of View) -_

When they heard the boy sneeze, they both turned; Amidamaru smiling slightly.

Even during the harshest of moments, Yoh was still brining a smile on the ancient spirit's face.

Yoh... was definitely something else.

Hao rolled his eyes, smiling slightly as well. "Yoh, you can come out now." Really, he had known that Yoh had been following them all along. It would only make sense... Yoh didn't want to be separated from his twin.

He heard a sniffle, Hao's slowly frowning. "Yoh?"

Yoh slowly came out, tears filling his eyes. "Onii-chan..." He began slowly. No, this was definitely not good. Little kids did get upset more easily than their elders; and Yoh was clearly afraid that Hao would be upset with him. "I'm sorry."

The older one soon his head. "About what?" He brought his brother into an embrace, rubbing his back in a comforting manner.

Yoh bit his bottom lip. "Are you mad?"

Hao blinked. "...No." He laughed lightly. "Why would I be angry with you?"

Yoh sighed. It was merely the fact that he had never disobeyed his brother before that made him scared.

Hao continued holding onto Yoh, picking him up as he faced Amidamaru. "Wait here." He said sternly. "If your friends still here, he'll appear by nighttime."

Amidamaru's eyes widened once more. Today was just full of surprises for this spirit. "How do you know all this?" He had to ask that question.

Hao merely smirked widely, turning his back on the spirit. "It's simple." A pause, he began to walk away, still holding Yoh close to him, who was smiling slightly at this point as he enjoyed the warmth he was receiving from his brother. "I know everything."

Yoh waved at the spirit. It was amazing how children's emotions could change so easily. "Bye bye, Amidamaru! I hope you find your friend!"

Amidamaru couldn't help but smile once more.

_...I hope so too, Yoh-dono._

-

HoroHoro and Ren were currently walking together; making sure that they got what they both needed.

Again, the streets were empty. Ren had refused to go out during any other time; perhaps this merely had something to do with insane obsession with 'darkness'.

...Then again; this _was_ safer... the chances of being caught as Shaman was more slim when they traveled at night.

For the first time since they had met; HoroHoro had volunteered to do the shopping. Ren, of course, had twitched profusely, claiming that he in no way would go alone; his kitchen was organized the way _he_ wanted it, and, it would stay that way.

The Ainu boy twitched. "You didn't _have_ to come with me, you know." He grumbled, his arms crossed.

Ren shrugged and smirked slightly. It was amusing, seeing HoroHoro like this. He got so angry over the smallest things... "Of course I did." He glanced at the other boy. "Knowing you, you'd end up getting the wrong thing. I don't need my things being disorganized." He shrugged.

HoroHoro twitches became even worse. Was Ren trying to call him an idiot! "What are you trying to say!" He demanded.

"...You should have figured that out." Ren tipped his chin up slightly, as if mocking him; egging him on. "...Oh, right; you wouldn't figure it out, would you?"

The blue-haired boy pulled out his snowboard, preparing to fight. "Are you asking for a fight!" He demanded; his faithful spirit appearing by his side.

Ren smirked, grabbing his glaive. "Considering how our last fight went; this one should be easy as well."

The Ainu frowned deeply. "This time will be different! I'm stronger than the last time we fought!"

The other boy's smirk only widened. This was exactly what he wanted; to fight HoroHoro in another fight. Since their last fightwhich took place only a month agothey had only been training; Ren's urge for another Shaman Fight growing. If there was one thing he liked more than training, it was fighting.

And so, the two Oversouled; their minds obviously off of the fact that they were still in a public street.

...Good thing they were empty.

-

Hao and Yoh were walking along the streets; Hao still holding onto Yoh firmly as the younger of the two slept sounder; his head resting on the crook of Hao's shoulder.

The other smiled softly at that. _Theses_ were the type of moments he loved spending the most with his brother; the only time when they could be really close.

It was the only time when he could see his brother in peace.

Sure; Yoh seem happy, but, it was clear that he was missing someone. _Something_ important was gone from him; from Hao as well.

He sighed; wondering right then if he should tell Yoh the truth.

...It would be hard... maybe too hard. The last thing Hao wanted to see was his brother sad, or upset in any way.

He... knew that he would have to tell Yoh someday. Just... not now.

He continued walking; shaking his head. _For now, I just need to concentrate on getting Yoh home. That spirit should be coming back as well soon._

"Bason! Oversoul!"

Hao stopped at that; freezing in his tracks. _An Oversoul...? _Wow. When was the last time he had heard someone else besides _him_ saying that?

"Kororo! Oversoul!"

He froze in his tracks; looking over to the side.

His eyes widened.

...This was a first.

There was other Shaman in the area besides him and Yoh...?

He slowly smirked; if it wasn't for Yoh, he would have summoned Spirit of Fire, joining in the fight as well.

But, for now he would watch the fight.

If they were strong enough... well; they would have to have a little talk, wouldn't they...?

**To be continued.**

**Author's note: **First of all, go here and read: http : (slash) (slash) www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net (slash) s (slash) 2283881 (slash) 1 (slash)

**Seito **wrote a really beautiful one-shot as a side-story to the end of chapter three. :) Go check it out, please?

This was... a bit of a cliff-hanger... umm... yeah; sorry about that. Hopefully the next chap will actually have more plot to it.

Well, I talked to Seito about this fic, and, I since I have this all planned out, this will probably be my first priority to finish. :3 It'll be updated a lot more often!

Um, I've never done PoV's before (at least not for little kids). Please tell me what you think?

And, I'm going back to writing HaoxYoh in every chapter. I'll try to make the chapters longer so I can get everything finished before I reach fifteen chapters...

:snickers: And Amidamaru calling Hao 'Hao-dono' seems so weird. XD

As for the X-Laws... can someone say 'hypocritical' here? X3

**Random note:** Viz is going to release HunterxHunter, yaay!

**Replies to reviews:**

**BBShadowCat**:shrugs: I brainstorm the ideas pretty easily. That's how I update so often... Seito came up with the basic idea for this fic, though.

Um... and I just had someone die in my family. Although I don't really want to talk about that.

**Chibi Atariel Tsukai: **Yeah... I think I'll do it by the end of the next chapter. :) Glad you like this!

**YokoYoukai**You've never heard of HoroRen! o.o lol XD That's a pretty canon pairing, if you ask me... thank you!

**Author-sama: **XD lol! Thank you! Yeah... HoroRen's can be really repetitive... which is why I try to do things differently...

**Asakihe**Yay! Glad you like it:)

**Elemental-Zero:whimpers**: Do I have to make HoroHoro angst? Come on, he's angsting inside, not outside. He's not the type of character to show his sadness; kind of like Yoh.

**Hellfire Phoenix: **Buahahaha! XD Yesh... Ren is the closest thing to being a woman in the series...

**Azalee**That's the thing; HoroHoro's not exactly an angsty character... I can see Hao taunting HoroHoro a lot, though. XD It's not as amusing as HoroHoroxRen, sadly.

I don't speak French... but I have a translating thing on my hardrive. :3 That's the only way I could have read your profile... XD

I don't think we're going to be able to talk to each other. o.O You might go online when I'm sleeping. XD

:dies: Oops... I went back and fixed it.

**Seito: **Is this enough HaoxYoh fluff? XD lol. There will definitely be more fluff between them at the end.

**Kagome-reincarnation: **Maybe... but, just think, it's _fan_fiction. XD I used to consider the HaoYoh pairing a bit creepy, too...

**haolover9312: **There in there! Yay! Glad you like it!


	7. 7

**Chapter 7**

Dark eyes shimmered in the moonlit sky as he watch the two young shamans charge at one anothercontinuing to hold onto his little brother. He watched with utmost interest; and yet, his eyes held hintings of boredom as well.

He rolled his eyes. Shouldn't he stop the fight? He glanced to the side; noting the group of teenagers that were slowly approaching the area.

Hao sighed deeply once again, clearing his throat loud enough for the two to hear, despite their bickering.

...Really, sometimes Hao was too nice for his own good.

-

Ren winced when HoroHoro hit him once more; growling slightly to himself. "You idiot!" He yelled. "Can't even fight fair, can you?" He slowly smirked.

The other twitched. "What are you talking about!" He released another ice attack. "You're the one with that over-sized Oversoul! That should be against the rules!"

"_Rules?_" Another laugh; Ren dodged the attack easily. "There are no rules in a Shaman Fight like this, Ainu baka!"

They began to charge at each other again; preparing another attack...

...Only to nearly fall over when they heard someone clear their throat.

They turned, glaring at the long-haired boy and twitching. "What do you want!" They both shouted in unision.

Hao sweatdropped at that. These two were certainly odd; even more so than he himself was. "People are coming." He said simply. "I'd stop your Shaman Fight, if I were you. If you don't want to be reported to the government." And with that, he began to walk away; ignoring their shocked faces.

"Wait a minute!" HoroHoro called out for him. He wasn't just about to let this stranger walk away! Not when he interrupted their fight like that!

Besides, that; it wasn't everyday that someone did that... It was rare to find any shamans at all these days.

"How do _you_ know about Oversouls? Are you a shaman, too?" He asked curiously.

The Chinese shaman rolled his eyes. "Obviously." He muttered. Really; why did HoroHoro have to be so _stupid?_

Hao glanced at the two. "Aah." He turned around; eyeing Ren. "I am a Shaman." He gestured to Yoh. "So is he." He then snorted. "However, we both know better than to fight in public."

More twitches from the two; they fought the urge to not to yell again.

An eyebrow rose. "Who the hell are you, then?" Ren had to ask. "It's not everyday you just meet another shaman on the street."

It was Hao's turn; his mouth twitched lightly. "All you need to know." He said simply. "Is that I am called Hao." He glanced at his brother. "As for him... it's not important."

The two gave him an odd look as they watched him leave.

Well... that little meeting was certainly strange.

Ren glanced at HoroHoro when the two were out of site. He was _not_ about to let Hao leave without finding out what the two were up too, first. He had sensed something from Hao; alright, it seemed like... an enormous amount of furyoku.

"...We're following them."

HoroHoro gave him an odd look. "Huh?"

"I want to see something." Ren said simply, walking away.

The Ainu blinked at that; watching the boy run away. "H-Hey!" He shouted. "Wait for me!" He ran after Ren; seeing as he had no choice but to follow him now.

-

Amidamaru sat next to his blade; meditating. He needed _something_ to do to pass the time while he waited; a meditating was merely one of them. He did that most of his time, anyways when he was sitting at the cemetery alone.

It was funny... dozens of people had seen him before; they had had mixed reactions, suresome shocked, some frightened, some even overjoyedbut this was the first time someone wanted to help him like the Asakura twins wanted to.

He eyed the blade again, his eyes saddening a bit. If only he could see his friend again... That was all he asked for.

The spirit froze when he heard a sob. No, this wasn't just _any_ kind of sob coming directly from Harusamethis crying sounded familiar, to say the least.

When the ancient spirit appeared, his head in his hands, Amidamaru could not be mistaken. It was him, alright.

His voice was quiet, almost barely above a whisper. "...Mosuke...?"

The spirit froze at that; almost not wanting to look up. His heart pounded heavily. Was he just imagining things...? No... He hadn't before... so why would he do such a thing now...?

"Amidamaru..." His eyes were wide. "What are you doing here...?"

Amidamaru smiled slightly. "Someone led me here." He paused; his eyes saddening a bit; he wanted to get right to the point.

He was here for one reason and one reason alone. It wasn't merely for the fact that he wanted to talk to his old friend, no, it was because he wanted to ask him why he had never came to the cemetery when Amidamaru had waited for him all that time..

...As much as he was angry, he was more relieved and happy.

"...Why didn't you ever come to the cemetery like you had sworn...?"

It was a simple question, yet, it held so much emotion for the two.

"I..." Mosuke looked down; the silver-haired samurai looking at him expectantly. "I was ashamed..." He glanced at Harusame. "And look at your katana!" His eyes filled with tears again; he bit his lower lip to prevent this from happening, however. He wouldn't let his friend see him crying again.

"You cannot use this as it is..."

Amidamaru merely smiled in response. This was just like Mosuke; for some reason, he had been expecting that answer.

"It's alright, Mosuke." He said calmly; repeating Yoh's earlier statement. The one that had stuck him dumfounded. "Everything will eventually work itself out. Perhaps we've lost a lot of years for our friendship but..."

Mosuke slowly smiled, shaking his headas if to silence the old spirit.

After all, that was all he needed to hear from Amidamaru.

Everything was fine now.

-

Hao brought the still sleeping Yoh homelaying him onto the futon as he began to eye the window. He knew who exactly was watching them, but, he paid them no heed. He could sense that they didn't mean any danger at all.

He shook his head, looking down and smiling faintly at his brother.

As of right now; he had no doubt that the samurai would join Yoh. He would talk to Mosuke, and keep his promise.

...Or Hao would summon him back and send the spirit straight to Hell if he did otherwise.

He slowly walked out of the room; glancing at Yoh one last time.

"...Good night, Yoh."

Ren bit back a sigh of relief when he saw that the lights of the inn were now all off. Who knows what could have happened if Hao had caught them...?

Ah, well; now that they knew where they livedthey would take the chance to talk to them about important manners tomorrow. It was obvious, just by judging how the long-haired boy had talked to themwhich they were trying to hide something as well.

It would be possible that the two brothers' were on the run, just as they were.

He didn't turn. "...We should head back, HoroHoro."

No reply.

Ren twitched, finally turning. "Did you hear"

_HoroHoro...?_

No one was there.

Ren frowned deeply at that. That was strange, to say the least. Last time he checked; HoroHoro had been following him closely; trying not to get separated from the pointed-haired boy.

...However, last time he checked, HoroHoro was right behind him. It was... strange, to say the least.

He sighed. _The idiot probably just wandered off. It's nothing to be worried about._

But then... _why_ did he feel like this?

-

Lyserg Diethyl bit his bottom lip as he walked along the hallways of his and his other comrade's home. Ever since that talk with Marco and the rest of the X-Laws; he had began to wander.

What was the real purpose of the group? _Why_ would they try to eliminate shamans, if they were shamans themselves?

It might be Lyserg's own fault that he had never questioned these things before; perhaps because the only thing on his mind when he had taken Marco's hand on that day was revenge. He wanted to avenge his parent's death; even if it cost him his very life.

But... now...

He didn't want to be part of a group that killed without reason.

"What's wrong?"

Emerald-eyes turned to stare into another's. "M-Marco..." A sigh. "It's... nothing."

His boyfriend frowned; an eyebrow rose. How many times would he have to remind Lyserg on what a horrible liar he was...?

"You're thinking about earlier." It was not a question, but a statement.

Lyserg nods. "...Marco." He begins, looking at him seriously. "Why are we killing others? The Asakura twins had nothing to do with us, and, they're shamans like us, aren't they...? And Hao's so strong! We could've invited him to join us if we hadn't of"

He was cut off with a slap; sending him flying to the cold, hard, tile floor.

"You can quit if you're going to question Jeanne-sama's ideals." He sent him a glare; but, his tone never rose in the least bit. "We don't need members like you."

Lyserg said nothing as he watched the man turn and walk away; tears steadily filling his eyes; a hand clasped to his swollen cheek. Marco had never hurt him like that before; not since they had gotten together, anyways.

He looked down and sighed.

He didn't want to betray the group, no, especially when Marco was a member. He wouldn't want to hurt him like that.

But... he didn't want to go on killing innocent people without any reasons at all.

_Father... what should I do?_

_-_

Hao looked up at the ceiling of his room; sighing softly to himself. He was contemplating on earlier events. Perhaps he should have... opened up to the shaman he had met earlier. After all; it didn't look like they worked for the government; in fact, they looked like shamans much like themselves.

_Perhaps... this is what I needwhat **we** need. It's obvious that I cannot defeat the X-Laws alone._ And, in fact, he wouldnot for himself, or for his brother; but, other shamans as well. It was clear that this couldn't go on anymore; this meaningless hunt for others with powers.

Hao paused when he heard a sniffling; blinking a bit as he turned.

"...Yoh?"

His younger brother was standing in the doorway; his stuffed bear being hugged closely to him as he bit back a sob. "O-Onii-chan..." He sniffed again.

"What is it?" The other shaman sat; gazing at Yoh in a concerned manner.

A sigh; he shook slightly at the memory. "I-I-I h-had a b-bad dream!" The other finally cried out. Now; it wasn't as if Yoh had awakened from other nightmares before, but, this one was certainly different. Not only had Hao died, but, so did other people as well.

No, it wasn't a pleasant dream at all.

These were the times when Yoh had wished to see his parents once more. They were always there for him when he needed company for such things as this. His mother would always be the one to comfort him; letting the young boy sleep with them for the night.

Hao, on the other hand, never had any situations such as these. Nightmares never bothered him, because he always figured thatwell... it was just a dream. Nothing more. Nothing less. Dreams weren't real.

Hao's eyes widened slightly at that before softening. Yoh had never come to him for such things as this. It was a bit strange for him. In fact... Hao was unsure of what to do."Do you want to talk about it?"

His younger brother whipped his eyes and shook his head quickly; not wanting to discuss this horrifying dream.

Hao nodded once more; looking down.

"...Can I sleep with you for tonight? 'Kaa-san and 'Tou-san always let me..." He looked down; hugging his bear even closer. If Hao didn't know any better; Yoh would have crushed the bear if his grip were to tighten anymore.

The other froze at that; not even sure what to say.

A small smile tugged on the corners of his lips as he patted the space beside him on the futon. "Come here."

The smaller one smiled slightly as well; quickly walking to his brother and laying down beside him; snuggling close to him, as if trying to get warm.

"..'Night, Hao..." The tone was a sleepy, quiet one.

"Good night..."

-

The streets were quiet as Tao Ren walked along them, cursing quietly under his breath.

Dammit! He never wanted to be out _this_ late! This was thanks to that stupid Ainu! Why did he have to wander off!

It was his fault Ren felt so worried for him, too, yep. If it wasn't for him, Ren could be sleeping, or, better yet, training. This was a waste of time!

"HoroHoro!" He called out for him; receiving nothing but silence in response.

He cussed under his breath. For some reason; he was scared. Scared that he wouldn't be able to find HoroHoro. They had been living together for so long; doing just about everything with one another that... Ren wouldn't know what to do if he lost his friend.

Yes, friend. The word might be foreign to the Chinese boy, but, it warmed him in a particular way as well.

Is _this_ what it felt like to have someone close to you...?

He sighed and continued to walk.

_HoroHoro; when I find you, I'm going to **kill** you!_

_-_

Hao watched his brother sleep; smiling softly to himself. He, however, was ignoring the presence of another.

"...You've decided to keep your promise, eh?"

Amidamaru appeared once more; mildly shocked that Hao could sense him like he did. He had to quickly remind himself, that Hao was a shaman. That, unlike most others; he could easily see him.

"...It would be dishonorable for a samurai to break his vow." His tone was serious. Hao merely smirked in reply to that.

"Good. I would have hunted you down and sent you to Hell myself if you hadn't of come."

The spirit sweatdropped. What kind of people _were_ these brothers'...?

Hao frowned, closing his eyes once more. "...Yoh's beginning more advanced training with you tomorrow, be prepared."

Amidamaru paused at that before nodding. Right now, he was prepared to do anything that Hao had to throw at him.

If it meant protecting the one that had reunited him with his friend, then he'd be ready to defend him against anything that would cross their path.

-

HoroHoro walked along the roads of Funbari, eating his fast food purchases happily. Sure, he _had_ wandered off, and _sure_, he _had_ left Ren behind, but, the food was so tempting! It _called_ to him!

"HoroHoro!" He blinked when he heard a voice not to far away, cringing. That voice sounded very, very familiar, to say the least. However, this familiar voice sounded angry. _Too_ angry for his liking.

_...Meep._ Ren was probably mad at him for wandering off again...

He stayed where he was, contemplating if he should call the pointed-haired haired boy where he was. Thing is; HoroHoro didn't _want_ to die yet! He still had a full life ahead of him...

"Dammit!" He heard Ren yell. "If I wasn't so worried about him, I would've gone home by now!"

...Wait a minute. Ren was worried about him...?

This was certainly a first.

"Ren?" It was a soft, quiet whisper. Right now, HoroHoro had forgotten about being afraid of being killed.

The other almost immediately twitched, turning to yell at him. "There you are!" He sighed, trying to calm himself down; but, failed. His hair began to grow. "I've been looking all over for you! Come on! We're going home!"

The Ainu merely blinked at that; smiling slightly as he slowly followed after Ren.

For some reason; he couldn't get irritated at the boy. No, normally he would have yelled at him for snapping at him like that, but, not today.

He grinned.

_I missed you too, Ren..._

**To be continued**

**Author's notes: **Just to avoid confusion; Hao and Yoh are 7 and 12 starting **next chapter.**

Er... yes... a different take on Amidamaru and Mosuke's reunion. :P

And, um, Marco fans... don't kill me. A few reviewers wanted Lyserg to get slapped by Marco, so, that's why I did it. XD;;

The HaoYoh fluff part was pointless, but, hey; people want fluff, so, there you go.

This chapter is a (really late x.x) birthday present to **Seito**. Happy birthday:D

Hao and Yoh finally met Horo and Ren! Yay! And Yoh and Hao are finally older. o.O If you consider seven and twelve older...

Erm... o.o :hides from angry reviewers: D: Don't blame me for not updating! Blame the yaoi anime! It's **Sukisho's** fault! It sucked me into its fandom and now I can't get out! (Everyone needs to go check it out. e.e seriously)

Anyways; since it's Spring Break... I may be able to update more often.

**Replies to reviews: **

... XD It was a mistake. :X

**Kiharu****-sama: **Glad you like this! Here's an update!

**strife-lover**Yay! Glad you like this! ;) I was afraid some characters might be OOC.

**Bonnie-Mizuhara Phantom: **Ehh... but it's cute when they're little. ;.;

**SPUW Commander: **Aww... I'm sorry to hear that you guys were grounded... I hope things get sorted out soon.

**Luna Chii: **Lack of Hao? o.o He's all over this site, though. XD

**Black Hikari: **Oops... hehehe... I'll go back and fix that...

Yep! HaoYoh fluff is really fun to write!

**Asakihe**Glad you like this!

**Chibi Atariel Tsukai: **Her fics are cute, too:P

Yep:D I know how people hate waiting for updates...

**Hellfire Pheonix: **Thank you!

HoroHoro and Ren are both 10...

**YokoYoukai**Yay! Fluff is good!

Really? Ah... well; welcome to the insanity! XD Mankin fics aren't usually the most sane thing on this site. :is shot by other authors: x.X

**haolover9312: **Sorry! But I like cliffhangers! ;.;

**KimBob**Everyone wants HoroRen fluff... lol... I'll try to do more of that next chap!

**Keeper of Yoh: **Yay! Everyone loves fluff. X3

**Azalee**XD Yes! Hao's so funny when he does that. o.o

Aww... ;.; As much as I love Lys torture (almost as much as Yoh torture) torturing Lyserg here would seem a bit wrong. XD

Ah well... maybe we'll catch each other online... someday. o.O

**lilc**OMG you did! o.o :heartattack: XD Kidding.

:bites: But I do suck at writing. :P

Your Onii-chan!

**Seito: **Glad you liked all these chapters so far!

And... yeah... I'll go back and fix that.

:hugs:D


	8. 8

**Chapter 8**

"Is this ok, Hao?"

"Not yet. Try again. You haven't quite gotten it yet."

A groan. "But I'm so tired..."

"Don't complain. You were the one that said you wanted to learn Oversoul today." Although his voice was a serious, his mouth slowly twitched into an amused smirk.

Yoh held Harusame and groaned again. "How do I do this again...?"

Hao was sitting across from him, glancing up from the book he was reading. "...You have to figure this out on your own this time, Yoh. Any good shaman should the first time perform an Oversoul. Remember to use your furyoku."

The seven-year old boy starred at his brother in shock. "That doesn't help me!"

"...Integrate your spirit into something other than yourself. Think, Yoh. That might be hard for you, but"

"That's not nice!" He pouted. "...And what do you mean? What else can Amidamaru possesses...?"

Hao twitched in slight annoyance. "...Figure it out."

Another sigh. This is exactly how Hao would act every time he trained... Man! He wanted to train with his best friends, too! His older brother would never let him... it wasn't far...

He looked up at the sky, thinking about the two.

Ever since Hao had met the two that night, they had begun to visit daily; always asking questions. Yoh quickly became friends with HoroHorothe two were a lot alike, after all.

Ren... was another story. He was more like Hao than Yoh.

He smiled widely at that thought. It was that day that he had first met them that he promised he would go stronger. That way, Hao wouldn't have to protect him anymore.

That's why... he was persistent when it came to Hao training him further in the arts of Shamanism.

All he could do now what continue. He would catch up to HoroHoro, Ren, and Hao in strength someday...

-

Jeanne sighed as the blood staining her dress slowly disappeared, using her furyoku to clean herself up.

She had just spent another week in the Iron Maiden.

Many X-Laws had sent her questioning looks. She knew what they wanted to know, and, today was the day she would tell them.

They needed a plan to kill Hao, of course. However, to do this, they would need to render him weak; which would be nearly impossible with Spirit of Fire by his side. That certain spirit was strong; too strong.

She had the perfect solution in stopping Hao.

Thing was; the certain spell she was going to use on Spirit of Fire would need more furyoku than she could use.

And that was where the X-Laws came in.

"Jeanne-sama!" Lyserg ran up to her in a worried manner, Marco following closely behind her. "Are you alright?"

She smiled widely at him. He was always the first to ask. "I'm fine, Lyserg." A tired sigh. "Just a little exhausted, however, nothing a night's rest won't fix."

The blonde-haired man sent her a serious look, bowing slightly to show at least _some_ respect to her. "Is the plan ready...?"

She paused before nodding. "...The group is willing to lend their furyoku, I'd hope." This was only way the plan would go through. The binding spell they'd use for Spirit of Fire, if successful, would render him weak.

He nodded. "Of course we will." He sent Lyserg a glare; that cringed. Of course he was still mad about their argument a few years agoLyserg had never stopped doubting the group since then, no. He was merely staying there for a place to stay. He, after all, wasn't allowed to go through the missions anymore, anyways.

The emerald-haired boy paused. They were talking about Hao, weren't they...? No one had known how they could stop him up until know; not with a spirit that something as great as the king of spirits created themselves. It was next to impossible.

However, Jeanne was strong. The group was confident that she would find a way.

"Hao will come to us." She said matter-of-factly. "He's been preparing for that for years." She eyes her comrades calmly, closing her eyes. "We'll look for him, until then."

Lyserg opened his mouth to protest, but, quickly shut it again, looking down. He wasn't about to speak up against Jeanne _again._ He had to at least pretend to be grateful towards the group.

But... that didn't mean he still wanted to see more people's deaths.

Maybe a few of his fellow X-Law comrades were right. Maybe he _was_ pathetic...

**-**

"Amidamaru in Harusame, Oversoul!"

Hao watched in shock as he brother _finally_ did it. He had successfully integrated Amidamaru into an object familiar to the samurai spiritwhich would just happen to be the katana.

...He had achieved Oversoul for the first time.

Yoh grinned; fighting to keep his balance as he starred at his spirit. "Wow!" He shouted in an excited manner. "That's _so_ cool looking!" He sweated heavily as he did this, but, he looked awfully happy. "Is this it, Hao?" He looked to his brother for approval; Amidamaru looking around oddly. _This_ certainly felt weirdbeing inside the katana like this. He had always been used to possessing Yoh's body.

Hao nods, smiling slightly. "...That's the Oversoul." His tone held a hint of amusement. "The first Oversoul is always exhausting, however. You can rest now." He was satisfied with what Yoh had to show for himself right now. Performing Oversoul for the first time... was definitely an achievement to be proud of as a shaman.

_You can rest now..._

Yoh slowly nodded at that; thankful of those words. "Thank you, Onii-chan..."

Amidamaru's spirit separated from the katana with Yoh's will; Yoh falling from exhaustion.

Hao's eyes widened as he caught his brother quickly; holding him close to him as he smiled slightly at him.

No wonder Yoh was so tired. He, of course, had learned Oversoul at such a young age...

He was... proud of his brother.

The older of the two placed Yoh on his back; carrying him back to the house. The boy was now unconscious.

**To be continued**

**Important notice:**

**I will not be updating anything at all until I get my internet back. Due to certain problems at home; I won't be online for a while.**

**Thanks.**

Had to cut that short... I'm really sorry, guys. I promise the next chapter will be a lot longer.


	9. 9

**Chapter 9**

"You can't catch me! You can't catch me!"

These sing-song words ran through the city of Funbari as HoroHoro ran for dear life.

Currently--he was being chased by twelve-year-old Tao Ren--you know, the arrogant, pointy-haired Chinese boy.

"Come back here, Dammit! That was the last of the milk!" He continued to chase him, spear in hand. After this, they couldn't even buy anymore milk! There was no way he was going to let a glutton like HoroHoro drink it all! He didn't even _like_ milk--well, not as much as Ren, anyways.

This was a daily thing for the two--HoroHoro would do _something_ to piss Ren off, and the said shaman would either end up fighting or chasing the Ainu. HoroHoro was used to it all now.

One could swear that right now, the two were acting like five-year olds; but, they didn't care. To HoroHoro--doing this was _fun_. Of course, spending any time with Ren--and Yoh, occasionally; if his psycho brother wasn't with him--was fun.

He always felt... so happy when he was with Ren, despite how cold he acted; he, however, could never figure out why he felt like this. He was happy hanging out with the brunet as well, admiring how cute (and small, just like Kororo) the seven-year old was, but with Ren... he truly felt like he was _alive_ when he was merely with him.

It had been only a few years since they had been living together--but... Ren and HoroHoro were safe to say that they cared for each other dearly. Ren was HoroHoro's best friend, and vice-versa.

"No!" HoroHoro turned around, sticking his tongue out at the shaman in a playful manner. "Why do you need it, anyways!" He snickered softly to himself. Ren probably _needed_ that milk's nutrients because he was so short.

"I don't need it!" He waved it glaive. "Get the hell back here!"

"Nope!" HoroHoro's pace only quickened as he ran, continuing to grin madly to himself.

However, the said Ainu shaman didn't even see the rock that was laid right in front of his path.

...Well, not until he tripped over it and fell, Ren clumsily tripping over him as well in surprise.

"Idiot! Watch where you're going!" Ren hissed, rubbing his now-sore head.

The Ainu twitched at that. "It's not my fault!" He whined, crossing his arms.

"Oh? So it's the rocks fault for you tripping over it?"

Another twitch. "No, it's _your_ fault! You were the one chasing me!" He pouted before looking to Ren, blushing slightly. The said Chinese boy had ended up falling right on top of him. "Get off of me!"

He did so; quickly realizing their predicament. His face had turned a reddish color now.

...Well. That was certainly embarrassing.

The other boy slowly sat, snickering softly to himself. He couldn't help it. Ren always seemed too overreacted when it came to situations like this, oddly enough.

Ren turned to look at him, a stern look on his face. "What's so funny!" It was his turn to cross his arms and twitch.

"...You." The other boy said simply, grinning to himself.

"Me?" He sent him an odd look, eyebrow raised.

HoroHoro nodded, slowly leaning up to press his lips against Ren's--it was a teasing kiss, to say the least, a very friendly one and brief one, and yet...

HoroHoro had wanted to do this for a while, Ren was... well... cute, to say the least. Or, his short temper made him that way--sometimes. Of course, he would never tell this to him.

He wanted to be closer to Ren--not just in a friendly state. As odd as a twelve year old thinking that way might sound. There was just some odd _connection_ between the two he could never put his finger on.

Ren held a hand to his mouth, twitching.

...The Ainu could swear that Ren would explode in any minute now.

_...Shit. Better start running now._

"HoroHoro! Wait until I get my hands on you!"

-

Yoh awoke with a start.

That nightmare--it was merely too much for him.

He shut his eyes tightly, sweat dripping from his brow.

_Hao..._

God. That dream had terrified him. It was the same one he had been having nonstop as a child--the same people who had killed their parents had killed Hao as well.

In his dream; he was alone. Always alone. He could never find the voice to call for his brother, for some strange reason. He could never find the strength to help him.

Perhaps that's what terrified him the most.

He shook his head. How many times would he have to dream this?

He looked around in a panicked manner for a moment.

Where was his brother...?

"Hao!" He called out for him, getting out of bed. "Where are you...?" He walked outside; the sun now shining with afternoon light, the spring air filling his senses.

"Yoh...?" His brother turned to look at him. He had merely been outside, training for what he needed to do soon. He frowned. "What's wrong?"

He had been expecting Yoh to come out eventually, yes...

...But he wasn't expected to be hugged so tightly.

As soon as he felt two arms wrap around him, he froze--slowly hugging his brother back.

"I..." Yoh burred his head in Hao's chest, holding him tightly. "You're never going to leave, are you...? You won't die, will you? Onii-chan..."

The older of the two couldn't move for a moment. What was with this all of the sudden? Was it another nightmare...? But... Yoh had never gotten this scared before.

He continued, shaking slightly. "I... don't know what I'd do without you..." Without his brother, he'd be alone. Without his brother--it'd feel like _something_ would be gone. Not just physically, but mentally at all. The thought of his brother gone...

...It terrified him.

"Yoh..." His brother sighed slightly, his eyes a bit sad. "I'm not going anywhere, ne? Why would I?" Besides that, he doubted that anything would be able to kill him _that_ easily.

The younger of the two looked up at him, clinging to his shirt. "You're right..." He said, smiling slightly. He was overreacting. It was just a dream, after all. A mere figment of his imagination.

Hao grinned in a cocky manner. "Of course I am." No, he was too strong to die. He couldn't. Not now, anyways.

Not when he had to intiate his plans tonight.

Tonight, he would end things once and for all.

Tonight; he would make sure that the four of them--him, HoroHoro, Ren, and Yoh--wouldn't have to hide anymore.

He'd go after the X-Laws; killing them once and for all.

He'd keep his promise to Yoh--he wouldn't die.

...Hopefully.

**To be continued.**

**For the rest of the chapter, please read Seito's _Promise Me Tonight._**

D: It's short again, isn't it:is getting lazy: Ah well... it's better than no update at all, right?

This fic is coming to it's conclusion pretty soon. xD Sorry...

And, yes, I still have my internet. I've just been grounded for personal reasons. Won't go into why or how. BUT, I don't really have the internet on weekdays. Just on weekends. I can try to update on weekdays.

:D Look at the bright side, people! I have off school in 20 days now--I'm sure I'll have this done in less than a month when summer starts.

And on a **random note**: If people like my new shota fic, they should definitely check out the anime series **Loveless.** Eee... Ritsuka: crossdressing cat boy.

**Replies to reviews:  
BBShadowCat: **lol! But Hao being mean is what we love about him!  
**SonnyGoten**It's back... kinda. :l  
**Jen-Tao: **Here's an update!  
**SaturnMax**No one likes MarcoLys... I'm trying to convert people, really, and it's not working, apparently. xD  
**gift-of-the-elves: **Aww! I hope this chapter helps you!  
**maria**Yay! Glad you like it!  
**haolover9312: **lol! Thank you! You're so nice. xD  
**Asakihe**Here's an update!  
**Andrea Nefisto: **Thank you for waiting!  
**Seito: **I missed you too! Ne... I got a new AIM address... please add SpirituaReborn, please?  
**Black Hikari: **Ren and HoroHoro are Hao's age...  
**Bonnie Mizuhara Asakura: **This one was short too. x.x Really sorry!  
**Azalee**Yay! (I still haven't been about to chat with you x.x)  
**DeAtHaNhEl-LaVeNdA**Huh...?  
**SilvaBluVixen**Yes he is:clings to him:  
**Krylancelo**Glad you like this!  
**memories**** of pain: **Thank you!  
**#1 hao-lover:** xD lol! He might... you'll see.


	10. 10

**Chapter 10**

Hao stared down below him a bit sadly, sighing slightly. That had been very hard for him, to say the least--leaving Yoh like that. However, he was more than confident that he would come back to his brother safe; if not, he made sure that HoroHoro and Ren would both be ready to take care of him.

He slowly smirked. This wouldn't be too hard, would it? He was already confident that his powers as a shaman were more than enough to take on a group like the X-Laws--and perhaps strong enough to take on their leader.

He had sensed how much furyoku she had before--perhaps more than he had received even with Spirit of Fire fighting with him.

The long-haired brunet would most likely come out of this alive.

...Or at least; that's what he believed.

His fists clenched; again, the smug expression forming on his face.

_...Those three had better stay safe._

-

"Jeanne-sama, are you sure this is the right thing to do?"

"...We've been in preparation long enough for this. Asakura Hao must perish."

Emerald-colored eyes held slight discomfort at that before nodding. He knew well enough that the words of their leader were absolute--at this point, he could not betray her.

And of course, he had to be happy. He hadn't been accepted in a mission as important as this before. Sure, he played a hard role--but it was important. Something he was willing to do.

The role of protecting Jeanne.

He was ready. He'd give up his life if he had to. After all... Jeanne felt like... a little sister to him. He was so overprotective of her... he'd rather die than see her get hurt.

But... there _had_ to be a way to avenge their members without the deaths of anyone

"He's coming."

Marco was the first to speak up, glancing inside the church--where Jeanne and Lyserg were sitting together.

Jeanne looked up, slowly standing. "Now?" Her tone held a somewhat surprised tone--although it stayed calm.

The man nodded. "I've sensed his presence nearby for quite sometime."

She looked to Lyserg. "...Get ready."

He looked down before nodding, following closely behind her.

For some reason, Lyserg wasn't too happy about this mission anymore.

-

It was another nightmare.

This time it has been worse--more realistic, one could say. He hugged his knees quietly, sniffling back silent sobs as he hugged his bear close to him.

He wanted his mother there. His father.

...But more so his brother.

_Onii-chan..._ He sniffed lightly, slowly standing and walking out of the room.

Amidamaru appeared over his head. "Yoh-dono?"

"Ne... We're going to the graveyard, ok, Amidamaru-san?"

The spirit paused, looking over the small boy thoughtfully. "Why there?"

"You were waiting for Mosuke there, weren't you?" He looked up at him curiously.

"Yes but... it's not safe at night. I can--"

Yoh merely looked up at him, grinning widely. "You're strong enough to protect me, Amidamaru-san. I trust you." He paused. "I'm sure Hao will be there. Everything will work itself out."

Hao...

He looked down, biting back tears before nodding.

He wasn't going to cry anymore. Yoh would be strong if he wanted Hao to return. He _had_ to be strong.

A hand went to his chest slowly.

...Why did his heart hurt so badly?

He didn't understand why he felt like this. Why should a young boy such as him have such odd feelings when he thought about his own brother? When he thought about Amidamaru, he felt the same--but for Hao, it hurt more. As much as it made him feel like he had just done something to make him very happy when he thought or talked about him, it also hurt, too.

Yoh slowly sat at the old tree in the middle of the cemetery, looking up at the stars quietly, his bear still close by.

...He would wait for his brother for as long as possible.

-

Hao smirked down at the site below him, panting lightly. At such a young age and for using Oversoul this long for the first time--he was getting exhausted; although, he refused to show _that_ "You guys just don't give up, do you?"

Marco and the others held their guard, the blonde-haired man speaking up first. "We've prepared far too long for this to be stopped by the likes of _you_."

"Tch." The long-haired shaman frowned at that, twitching slightly. These X-Laws just refused to die, didn't they?

He glanced at their leader, frowning again. It was a bit strange, wasn't it? She hadn't of done any--

...Wait a second.

Her eyes were closed, chanting something to herself.

This was a trap, wasn't it!

"Jeanne-sama, now! His guard is down!" A male member shouted out to her.

Before he had a chance to react or even move for that matter--the archangel's were all fired--Shamash putting him under a restriction spell as well.

He had been attacked by all the angels at once--Spirit of Fire being taken down.

He, of course, had been placed under a binding spell--he had fallen to the ground, paralyzed.

He could no longer move.

He clenched his fists, cursing under his breathe. This was _not_ how he had planned things to end...

"What should we do to him now, Jeanne-sama? Exterminate him for good?" A gun was held to his head--thanks to Marco.

The silver-haired leader slowly stepped closer to him, inspecting him closely--whom glared at him in response.

"...Not yet. There's still more Shaman he knows that we can use him to find."

He slowly smirked at that. "If you _really_ think I'll tell you where they are..." His voice trailed off. He would rather die than tell _them_ where Yoh was--in fact; he wouldn't even tell her where Ren and HoroHoro were!

Jeanne slowly stood, merely smiling in response to that.

"...Take him inside. He can stay in there for now." She eyes him. Oh, yes; she would use Hao for finding Yoh and the others--it might take some time to do so, but she was a patient person. She could wait.

If not...

...Hao didn't have a very high chance in living now, did he?

-

HoroHoro pouted quietly as he walked with Ren for their morning training. "Oh, come on! You're not still mad, are you? That kiss was just a joke!" Really, it was just ridiculous. One would think that a _normal_ person would have gotten over it by now--but, no. Ren was moodier than a freaking girl PMSing.

"Leave me alone!" Ren was about ready to attack HoroHoro with his spear--just as he had done when he had kissed him. A light blush took over his features. "You're lucky I'm even _taking_ you training with me!"

"We're at the cemetery already! We might as well--"

He was cut off by a whimper.

They slowly turned, HoroHoro's eyes widening a little.

Ren was the first to speak up, stepping closer to the child. "Yoh...?"

The boy didn't respond; he was curled up under the tree, sleeping a bit soundly.

A sigh. Ren frowned. _He didn't come back, did he...?_

He shook the boy lightly. "Yoh."

"Ren..."

"Shut up." Ren growled at the Ainu. "We'll talk about _that_ later. Let's just get him back home with us first."

After all--who else was there to take care of Yoh now?

**To be continued**

**Author's note:** ... .. ... Ehehehe... you guys aren't... _mad_, are you? I mean... I _was_ grounded, and I _do_ have other things to update.

Well, whatever. I'm not grounded anymore, so that means I can update more often. :3

This fic'll be over soon anyways. o-o


	11. 11

**Chapter 11**

It wasn't long before Yoh awoke.

Of course--when he did so; the first thing he wanted beside him was his brother, his mother, anyone who could comfort him.

When he found out that it was HoroHoro and Ren whom was taking care of him--he had burst into tears again; the last flicker of hope he had left vanishing.

Who could blame him? Yoh was still young; he had lost his parents at a very young age, the only people left for him right now were two people he still barely even knew. What were the chances of loosing them next?

...He didn't even want to think of it.

Ren's eyes widened when Yoh cried quietly, unsure of what to do. He wasn't used to taking care of children like this...

"Do something!" He hissed, glaring at HoroHoro.

"Me? What do you want _me_ to do?" The ice shaman sent him a look in disbelief.

Ren rolled his eyes, biting back the urge to slap HoroHoro again for his stupidity. "_Anything_. Just make the kid calm down!"

Yoh whipped his eyes quickly upon hearing that, looking at the two in a sad manner as he slowly stood.

"...Do you know where Hao is?" He sent the two hopeful glances; frowning slightly as Amidamaru appeared beside him; floating beside him, gazing at his young mater in a worried manner.

Really, they had been lucky that HoroHoro and Ren had found him; not that he would have let anything happen to Yoh, mind you. It was just lucky. Who knew how long Yoh was willing to wait there?

The two older shamans sent each other wary gazes upon hearing that question; Ren slowly turning to Yoh and sighing a little. How was he supposed to explain what happened...?

"Your brother... isn't coming back, Yoh." Ren was the first to speak up, slowly sitting beside him.

The younger boy's heart stopped beating for a moment. "...Huh? _Why! _He promised he would!" He shouted. He wouldn't believe that his last remaining family member wouldn't come back. He _refused_ to believe something like that.

It wouldn't be fair!

The Chinese shaman frowned a little, sending HoroHoro yet another look. What was he _supposed_ to tell him? That Hao was dead like his parents...?

"He... might be dead."

HoroHoro sent him a look. "We don't know that, Ren! He could still be fighting the X-Laws!" His fists clenched. Did they want to upset him _again_...?

...Even though, chances were that he _was_ dead.

He wanted to punch something. _Dammit!_ Why didn't Hao take them with him! He could have come back safely if he had! It wouldn't have hurt to bring them with him, if it meant having a better chance of winning!

Ren sighed, answering HoroHoro's unvoiced question. "...Hao didn't want us in danger." He said quietly, cursing under his breath. "He treats us like we're weak."

"Huh...?" Yoh sent them looks. "The X-Laws...?" His eyes quickly widened, shaking his head and quickly standing, grabbing his katana and running out of the room quickly.

If Hao went after the X-Laws, he surely had to go after him! He had heard about the group a few times from HoroHoro, Ren, and his own brother a few times--and from what he had heard they were dangerous.

They were the reason that they were always moving around.

If his brother was to hide from them so many times, what made him think that he could defeat them by himself!

When he ran outside, aware that he was finally alone, he fell on his knees, tears slowly falling to the soft, dew-stricken grass, letting the tears fall once more,

-

Emerald colored-eyes stared into tired-looking dark ones.

Currently, she was staring at Asakura Hao, waiting to get an answer from him; the other shaman looking wary from the previous battle; still weak from blood lost and uncared for wounds.

He was still bleeding badly.

On top of that, she had made sure that he was kept paralyzed under her spell. It wasn't hard, really. He was weak; being weak made it easy for the victim of the said spell to become paralyzed; and possible a bit hurt by this spell.

Despite this, though; he still kept his head held high; sending her a harsh glare. Oh, she wasn't going to get away with doing this to him, not at _all_. _No one_ did anything like _this_ to him without getting _hurt_.

"Where are they?" She asked calmly; eyeing him in a bit of a disgusted manner. She _hated_ Asakura Hao. Why should anyone have to kill a part of her family like this and expect them not to go after them!

Hao rolled his eyes. "I told you, didn't I? You'd need to be more specific if you wanted me to tell you."

She waved her hands a little, sending a wave a shock through his body. Hao clenched his teeth together, as if to hold back from showing pain. She slowly approached him, stepping even closer. "You know who I'm talking about, Asakura Hao."

He slowly smirked. Did they _really_ think he'd tell them? "Hn." He chuckled lightly under his breath, his bangs covering his eyes. "How stupid..." His smirk only widened. "You've killed countless families, and yet you don't expect retaliation against that." He glared. "If there's anything I hate, its hypocrites." What kind of _shamans_ killed their own kind! This group was ridiculous!

Her eyes widened a little before hardening, murmuring another spell and turning, looking to Marco. "It's obvious he isn't going to speak up anytime soon. Let's plan on what we can do next."

Hao bit back a sigh of relief, watching them leave and looking up.

His eyes saddened ever-so-slightly. Hopefully, Yoh was alright...

Hao's fists slowly clenched. When his brother found out where he ... knowing him...

_If any of those three come after me for **any** reason at all, I'll kill them myself._

-

"Should we go after him?"

Ren watched HoroHoro cook calmly upon hearing that question--it was his turn to do this, after all.

"No. He'll come back when he realizes he can't do anything about this." That might be harsh sounding, but it was the truth. At Yoh's state, even if he found out where the X-Laws were, he'd die easily. Very easily.

...Possibly even with HoroHoro and Ren there to protect him.

"Poor kid." HoroHoro muttered quietly. He could relate with Yoh--almost; except this time, he was defenseless.

HoroHoro hadn't been.

He shook his head quietly. He shouldn't think of the past. It hurt him to do so--and that made him sad and... again; that wasn't like him at all.

Ren shrugged. "Life is supposedly full of losses, isn't it?" An odd smirk made it's way on his lips, isn't it.

HoroHoro frowned, starring at Ren. "...But, with some of those losses, you gain something too, don't you?" He was referring to Ren, really. Where would he be if he hadn't of found him on that day, a few years ago...?

He paused, clearing his throat a little. Again, this wasn't like him; and it wasn't like he should be talking about this now, anyways. They had other things to worry about.

"About that kiss..."

Ren froze at that, blushing slightly at the thought as he set the table. "...Don't you even _think_ I'm _not_ pissed off about you doing that." His tongari twitched slightly before smiling a little.

Then again, the kiss hadn't been _so_ bad, had it? It didn't... feel bad... not that he would admit this, of course!

But then again--the more he thought about it...

The more he wanted it to happen again; if only to feel like that once more.

After all; HoroHoro was the one person he really felt comfortable about, even if they did fight a lot; even if they didn't get along all that much.

But they had their moments of happiness as well.

He looked at HoroHoro, a small smile on his features; blushing heavily. "...Perhaps... it wasn't _that_ bad."

HoroHoro merely grinned at that, opening his mouth to answer that with an 'I knew it!', but he was cut off when Yoh ran back into the room, a determined expression on his face.

"...Take me to where Hao is. We have to save him."

Ren's smile slowly turned into a smirk.

He knew this would happen as well.

...Training for Yoh would begin tomorrow.

**To be continued.**

**Author's note: **Wow. Listening to the Bleach Soundtrack while writing this made it really easy to write. xDDD;;;; (Especially 'Nothing Can Be Explained" o.o It fits this fic so well it's scary. Talking about children loosing mothers and stuff...)

Er... :coughcough: I'll be updating this fic as much as possible from now on. I have a lot more fics I want to post so... yeah... this'll be over within the week, hopefully. X3


	12. 12

**Chapter 12**

It had been three weeks since training first began.

Yoh had improved greatly, to say the least. He had gone from using a weak Oversoul, to almost having enough furyoku to go to the next level.

He was almost strong enough.

It amazed Ren, really. How could such a weak boy grow so powerful within only a few days, when it had taken him years of training to merely grow _that_ powerful?

And then it hit him.

Hao was extremely powerful, too--not strong enough to take on a group like the X-Laws--but powerful enough that he might kill Ren if he wanted to. It wasn't just thanks to his spirit, either.

The pyromaniac shaman merely was just... naturally born with an immense amount of furyoku.

Really, who_ were_ the Asakuras? Were all the member's of the family or even trainees of the family this powerful?

...Well, whatever made killing the X-Laws easier.

Although Ren would make sure _he'd_ be the one to kill Jeanne. Oh no, it wasn't just to avenge his sister anymore, but it was for HoroHoro; for Hao, for Yoh--for _every _shaman whom had to suffer because of that.

It really wasn't like him to think like this, was it? Usually, he'd just be doing this for his dear sister.

But... things had changed so dramatically over the passed few weeks. With HoroHoro and Yoh--he had never felt so close to someone before.

It was... a nice feeling.

And yet, again, Ren would never admit to this. He had never been remotely close to anyone else except for Jun, so...

He shook his head. He didn't want to think about loosing someone like that.

_Soon.__ We'll go after them soon._

"Ne, Ren!" HoroHoro interrupted his thoughts, panting heavily; right now, he was fighting with Yoh; neither of the two currently winning. Ugh. They had been training all day!

"How long do we have to train like this!" Really! Yoh was just about as powerful as he was now! It shouldn't be any trouble to go after the group on their stupid rescue mission now!

Hn. He wasn't even doing this for Hao anyways. He didn't even like the guy. If it met kicking some of the X-Law's butts, then he was game for it--but for the sole purpose of saving Hao...?

Ick.

"Until I say you're prepared!" He twitched. He wasn't about to let them go in without letting the younger shaman be prepared first; and he knew very well that Yoh would _not_ let them go without them.

So they had to train. It was just to be safe, of course.

Yoh fell to the ground at that, his Oversoul finally vanishing as Amidamaru appeared beside him again. He was really sleepy--today, he had strained himself a lot; even more so than when he had first began training.

He wanted to save his brother as soon as possible--so he was pushing himself more and more; trying to get stronger as soon as possible. He was well aware that time was running out, that they needed to hurry up and get to defeating the X-Laws and saving his brother; and whoever else they had kept captive.

HoroHoro's eyes narrowed when he saw Yoh pant heavily--helping Yoh back up and supporting him. "See? He's tired of this, too!" He twitched. "Yoh is prepared enough for this! Besides that, if we don't hurry, Hao might be dead by the time we get there!"

The brunet looked down at that, saying nothing as his fists clenched.

Oh, he was more than ready to save Hao.

Ren's tongari grew a little. Gah! They were just whining at this point! He could have trained _much_ harder than they were! "Fine!" He threw his hands up in the air, slowly turning as he cursed in Chinese under his breathe; heading back inside.

Ugh. So ungrateful. He had taken time to train them himself, too!

Yoh blinked at that. "Ah, Ren!" He began, slowly going after him. "When are we--"

He was cut off when the door slammed shut; causing Yoh to look down again.

...If he had too, he'd go after Hao himself.

-

Ren sighed in a wary way under his breathe, grabbing a glass of milk from the refrigerator. He was loosing his patience from training them, really. It wasn't like he _wanted _to do this! It was just that...

...Hao would kill them if anything happened to Yoh.

"Do you have to be so hard on him?" HoroHoro finally spoke up, scratching his head a little. He had been watching Ren for a few moments now.

The other boy sighed once more at that, closing the refrigerator door. "I'm not a softie like you." That made the other boy twitch. He wasn't a softie! He just felt sorry for the poor kid!

The Chinese shaman eyed him. "...That's a stupid question, anyways." He snorted. "Of course I have to be hard on him. He wouldn't get any stronger if I wasn't." He opened his bottle of milk in a graceful manner. "You of all people shouldn't complain. You're the one who said we should go along with this stupid mission."

"Only because I wanted to kick some ass!" He grinned at the thought. "But..." A sigh; he frowned as quickly as he had grinned. "This training isn't worth it!" Really; running 20 laps around the city was _insane_. Ren was _crazy! _It was like he was _trying_ to _kill_ them!

A frown. "We're not doing it for you, if you haven't notice. I don't want to deal with that kid for the rest of my life."

HoroHoro twitched at that, before shaking his head, smiling slightly. The Chinese shaman might as well just admit he was doing it for the two of them, really.

He slowly went to the said shaman, wrapping his arms around him as he grinned--they hadn't done much as a couple, had they? But... what was there to do for... 12 year olds? The most they could do was cuddle, right?

"You still owe me from earlier." His grin only widened.

Ren flushed crimson at the touch, but despite that, he smirked. "I do, don't I?" He murmured quietly, turning a little to press his lips against HoroHoro briefly, separating from him. "Go cook. It's your turn."

"Again!" HoroHoro groaned. He _hated_ cooking! "I did it last night!"

"And you agreed to do it tonight, stupid." Ren snapped right back at it. He paused. "If it's that much of a chore, get Yoh to help you with it." He smirked once more. "The kid needs to learn to fend for himself, anyways."

HoroHoro only rolled his eyes at that. He remembered no such agreement. Besides that, he was tired... But it really wouldn't do any good to argue with Ren, would it..?

"Hai, hai." He grumbled again, walking off to get Yoh.

-

The moonlight was the only thing shining upon the small guest room as Asakura Yoh began to contemplate; laying on his futon as he did so.

This was an odd task, mind you--especially for the small boy. He had never thought about things like this; never had to depend upon himself--Hao was always there to guide him through everything, to protect him, to do everything _for_ him.

His fists clenched again.

_Hao... I miss you._

But perhaps, without him even realizing this; it was good for him as well. Although it wasn't very surprising; under his circumstance, who _wouldn't_ be overly dependant on the closest thing to him?

But Ren and HoroHoro...

A sigh. If it was up to Ren, he'd never get things done.

He looked to his katana, and the then to the window. If he could go alone... It would prevent HoroHoro and Ren from endangering themselves anymore than they had for him already.

...He was strong enough for that. To go alone; to take care of what he had caused in the first place. It was his fault Hao was where he was.

And... who knew? If he waited any longer; Hao might _die_! He couldn't wait for that to happen! He wouldn't know what he would do if that happened to him!

His brows furrowed at that, eyes shining in resolve as he slowly sat.

It was time to take things into his own hands for once; he wasn't going to depend on anyone for this.

It was time for him to protect Hao.

-

"Ren!"

Ren's eyes narrowed upon hearing HoroHoro approaching him again, stirring some rice as he cooked. "What is it! I already started cooking for you--"

"Yoh's gone!"

He stopped. "What do you mean gone!"

HoroHoro sent him a dry look. "His katana's gone! Amidamaru too!"

"...Great." Wow. Ren knew _exactly_ where he had gone, too.

...That kid was a bit _too_ predictable for his own good.

-

"Jeanne-sama!"

Silver-hair flew lightly as she turned her focus away from Hao--tomorrow was supposedly his last day. They were finished with him; ever since he had gotten there, it seemed like he... just wouldn't tell them what they wanted to know.

It was a waist to keep him alive; he was suffering, anyways. Jeanne never failed to use more and more spells when he refused to answer her questions.

"What is it?" She asked softly, staring at Marco calmly; however, he r voice held a bit of an edge to it. She was growing really, _really_ impatient with this. They had been planning far too long for their deaths.

He slowly smirked. "We have an intruder." He starred at Hao. "I believe you know him? He looks like you."

Hao, who was hanging limply, froze at that, his eyes widening a little.

How did...?

His fists clenched at that. What was his brother _thinking_! He hadn't of wanted him to come here!

The brunet-haired boy fell limp at that again.

There wasn't any hope for... _any_ of their survivals, was there...?

**To be continued.**

Hahaha. :P Another cliff-hanger. No, I'm not evil, really. x3

Woo! Two or three more chapters left. x.x; I don't like how this one came out, but ehh.

I suck. I know I do. I can't write HoroRen fluff if my life depended on it. I tried to put some here, but it's HARD. They're 12 people, 12! I can't make them do more than kiss!

...Erm... yeah... anyways.

Review please!


	13. 13

**Chapter 13**

_Yoh shivered heavily as the wind once again blew through the forest. It was cold, to say the least._

_The October air had only gotten colder that night._

_More than anything, Yoh wanted to sleep. He wanted to rest so badly._

_...And yet, he couldn't._

_He wasn't sleeping until he finished what he had come all this way for._

_He bit back more tears. Ugh. He hated this--Yoh loved life; mostly because he loved being happy but... he hadn't been happy since they had left their parents, had he...? That and... He was hungry and tired--the two definitely **not** a good combination for a little kid like Yoh. He might be mature, yes; but he was still just a child._

_Yoh just wanted to go home._

_His eyes widened as he tripped; obviously not looking where he was going as he fell, katana flying as he fell in mud._

_Yoh whimpered a little before pausing and laughing._

_He could just imagine how he looked now, really._

_...Maybe all of this wouldn't be too bad._

_If he was successful, that it._

_He slowly stood, whipping some of the mud from his pants as he stood, grabbing his katana as well as he peered ahead of him._

_His eyes widened a little upon seeing a chapel._

_...The brunet-haired boy had reached his destination._

-

Hao's fists clenched as he glared at Marco. "And how would _you_ know if it's my little brother or not!" He demanded. Oh, he was furious now. This was _not_ funny; no, it was a cruel joke, wasn't it? Marco had never seen Yoh before, anyways! How would he know if it was him!

He smirked in response to that, stepping closer to the younger boy. "He told us ourselves." He paused. Besides that, the X-Laws already knew what he looked like; even if hadn't known before.

Oh, it had been very, very easy to capture the boy, actually. It didn't take much to do it. It was if he hadn't even been very experienced with Shaman Fights to begin with.

Hao sent Marco a dry look. "...Right." Like he was supposed to believe that Yoh just went right out and told them who he was...? "And I suppose he went to you with open arms, too?" He asked in a sickenly sweet tone.

The other boy twitched at that, he was tempted to tell him not to be smart, but he knew Hao would merely retort with an even smarter comment. "All that matter is that we have him captured." He slowly turned. "You'll get the honors of seeing him executed, Asakura Hao."

The pyromaniac could only growl at that, his fists clenching in infuriation and frustration as he watched Marco leave.

-

HoroHoro and Ren ran throughout the forest of Izumo, Ren glaring at HoroHoro.

"Dammit!" He hissed.

HoroHoro twitched. "How could we _not_ notice him leaving!"

Ren paused at that. No, the real question was; how could they _not_ sense it? They should be able to sense a weaker shaman leaving! It was a part of having more furyoku than other shamans did!

...Unless...

Ren slowly shook his head. Yoh couldn't have gotten _that_ much stronger just from a few weeks.

...Could he have?

Well, whatever.

He looked to HoroHoro, his pace only quickening. "Let's hurry up."

HoroHoro snorted. Most of this was Ren's fault, anyways! If they hadn't of waited for so long...

...It wasn't time to worry about that, was it...?

His pace quickened along with Ren, preparing his Oversoul upon nearing the church the X-Laws were staying at.

-

Yoh panted heavily as he prepared his Oversoul once more; sighing in relief.

It was a wonder on how he managed to get away from the X-Laws, exactly; he had been held captive by three of them; one of them had left to find their 'leader' but...

Yoh had barely used any of his power. How did he...?

He smiled. _Amidamaru-san must be really, really strong!_

Right, he knew his spirit partner was strong. But... _this_ strong...?

He grinned widely at the thought. He felt... very grateful to have someone like him at his side; ready to protect him, to sacrifice anything to protect Yoh.

He looked at the two unconscious members before sneaking off, sighing. He felt even more tired but...

He could make it.

After all, the chapel couldn't be _that_ big, could it?

He paused, looking at the new hallway of doors and groaning loudly. It was weird; in the back of the chapel--behind the door in the first room; it seemed like every hallways lead to another, which lead to another, and lead to another.

How would he find his brother in this mess...?

...Ok. So he was wrong. The chapel _could_ be _that_ big.

-

"Ow! Dammit!" HoroHoro used yet another attack on yet... another X-Law and he and Ren fought their way through the church.

Ren smirked. "And as holy as this group calls themselves, you'd think they would have the decency _not_ to fight in a church." He said in a dry manner, using another Chuuka Zanmai; and knocking another X-Law to the ground.

HoroHoro sent him a look.

"I know, I know!" Ren scowled, his Oversoul disappearing--he had just defeated the last X-Law that had ambushed them. "No killing anyone." He rolled his eyes. What was with HoroHoro lately? Last time he talked to them about this; he was perfectly kind with killing some of the members.

...Especially Jeanne.

He twitched. "Where is that brat!" Ugh. They had been in this stupid place for three hours now, and there was no sign of him! He had to have come there, though! Where else would he have gone...?

A sigh. Ren was... slowly running out of furyoku.

He looked at the Ainu shaman. "You're arm..." HoroHoro was bleeding.

He arm was broken.

HoroHoro laughed nervously at that. "What? This!" He glared down at his arm, cringing ever-so-slightly. Damn this... he couldn't fight that well with just _one_ arm! "I'm fine!" He laughed again.

The Chinese shaman twitched at that, smiling slightly. HoroHoro... really was something else.

He tore off a piece of his clothes--tieing it tightly around his wound. "Here..." His voice was uncharacteristically soft. "You'll have to deal with the pain until we get out of here." He looked up at him.

HoroHoro groaned at that. "...Fine." His tone was a wary one. He slowly reached down, grabbing his snowboard with his uninjured hand.

"Let's get this over with, and save the brat."

-

It had been four hours since he had first arrived at the chapel.

The brunet-haired boy panted heavily, falling as he tried to keep balance, whipping the sweat from his forehead; his Oversoul disappearing.

He had been walking for hours. _Hours_. There still wasn't any sign of Hao yet.

How many X-Laws had ambushed him at this point?

...He lost count.

Yoh winced, attempting to grab Harusame. _O-Ow..._ He sniffed lightly. He was in _a lot_ of pain from using so much furyoku at once.

"...Are you Yoh-kun?"

Yoh blinked at that, his brows furrowing as he prepared to grab Harusame. He stood, prearing to Oversoul when--

The boy froze at that, blinking. "I-I'm not going to hurt you, don't worry!"

He paused at that, blinking at the young emerald-haired boy; his katana slowly lowering. That was strange... He had the X-Laws uniform on and everything.

Lyserg looked at him, smiling slightly. "You're the one everyone's looking for, right...?"

Yoh looked down. "Y-Yeah..." This was weird. Why would an X-Law member act so friendly...? The one's he had come across were all out to kill him, but this one...

The boy slowly looked behind him before looking to Yoh; what he said next was said in a quiet, hushed voice.

"...Follow me. I'll take you to your brother."

-

He hadn't known what possessed him to help Yoh like he had.

Perhaps it was the mere fact that he felt sorry for the siblings--they were merely doing this to protect one another.

Perhaps he felt that what the group was doing was wrong.

...Or maybe it was for his own resolve.

He wanted to break free. As much as he loved Marco... he was tired of it. He wanted to be free; he wanted to be able to state his own opinions.

But... he didn't want to be alone.

A sigh.

_I'm sorry. Jeanne-sama. Marco._

From the moment he led Yoh to his brother; he knew that there was no turning back from his decision.

-

"**Onii-chan**!"

Upon hearing that, Lyserg snapped out of his deep contemplation, sighing a little as he had looked down. It was... odd. All he had done is shown Yoh where Hao was being held captive. It was up to him to get him out of here.

This was all he could do.

Hao looked to Yoh in shock. He could hardly believe it... "Yoh...? What are you doing here?" How did Yoh even get this far! It was...

Yoh looked at Hao in disbelief "I came to save you!" What kind of question was that!

Well, whatever... He smiled slightly at his brother looking at the chains and frowning, contemplating on what Ren said about chains like this before.

...This was a spell.

He prepared to use his furyoku, putting his hands on the chains, Hao sending him an odd look. He knew how to release this alright--it was that the person chained up couldn't use furyoku to do this.

"Yoh. Wait."

Yoh stared up at his brother, blinking. "Huh? What is it...?"

He shook his head. "Don't use anymore furyoku."

"Eh!" Yoh looked at him in shock. "But if I don't use any, how am I going too--"

"You'll exhaust yourself." Anymore furyoku, and Yoh would end up too weak to even stand. His brother was far too young to do all this--to use so much shamanic powers in a short period of time.

Yoh looked down. "Onii-chan! I'm doing it anyways!"

"He's right, you know."

Yoh paused, slowly turning, frowning slowly.

Iron Maiden Jeanne slowly smiled. "We've been waiting for you, Asakura Yoh."

**To Be Continued.**

...This fic is... I can't explain it. I don't like how this chapter came out either. Knowing me, I'll want to go back and rewrite it, just to prevent it from being so stupid. e.e; Yeah... that's how I feel about this right now. But! I'm going to finish this anyways!

**Review please. :D**


	14. 14

**Chapter 14**

Hao's eyes widened at that, his fists clenching as he glared harshly at Jeanne.

This... wasn't good. Not good at all.

In his brother's current state, he was too weak to even try to Oversoul, much less fight with someone as strong as Jeanne. It didn't really matter how much he had improved.

They were going to die, weren't they...?

His fists clenched at that thought. No, they wouldn't die. After all, his little brother would tell him 'everything will work out' under this kind of situation, right...?

Yoh blinked at the Iron Maiden. "Onii-chan... who is she?"

If Hao could have fallen right there and then, he would.

She giggled a little at that question. Ah... He was a cute little kid, wasn't he?

Her gaze on Yoh hardened ever-so-slightly.

Too bad he wouldn't live for much longer.

"That is not important." She said softly, calmly. Well, it wasn't. Again, Yoh was just going to die soon anyways. She wouldn't waist her breath on saying _anything_ of the like to him.

She stepped closer, inspecting the boy for a moment. "...Now... how should I do this?" She paused to contemplate, only earning yet another glare from Hao, and a confused, odd look from Yoh.

"Yoh. Run away." Hao looked to his brother. Yes, even though he knew this would be impossible, he was telling his brother this, anyways.

His eyes widened. "W-What! No!" Besides, she wasn't a bad person, was she...?

"_Restriction._" It was too late. Jeanne had already walked closer to him--paralyzing him with yet another spell. She sighed a little. That used... a lot of her powers, but it made it easy to make the opponent helpless.

Hao's eyes widened. "Leave him alone!" He shook from anger. Ugh. He was completely helpless! He didn't want to see this! It'd be his entire fault Yoh was--

"If you touch him, I'll _kill_ you."

Jeanne had paused when she felt a spear being pressed against her back--but it wasn't strong enough to hurt her in anyways, mind you.

...Well, no yet, anyways.

She slowly smiled once more at that. "That child would not be pleased if you killed me." She saddened a little at the thought. "...And the Lord wouldn't be, either..." Her voice was quiet at that. It was so; why were there so many killings of the wrong people lately...?

Tao Ren smirked a little in amusement at that. How hypocritical of her; but should he have expected any less? "And you think your so-called 'lord' would have been happy with _you_?" Ugh. That made him sick to his stomach. "Especially with the countless people you've killed!" His tone held a sharp edge to it this time.

A laugh. She shook her head at that. "But we're cleansing this world of filth." Really; the people doing this; they were being forgiven; paying off for their sins by serving God. "Isn't that what you wanted to do, Tao Ren?" Oh, she knew his goals, alright. Then again, she knew a lot of things...

Ren paused at that before looking away. Of course he wanted too. It was his goal as a shaman. He wanted to get rid of certain people, things--anything that was causing this world to be more tainted than it already was.

...Or he had, anyways.

_HoroHoro..._ He slowly gazed behind him, staring at his best friend and loved one for a moment. Because of him, he had changed a lot, and even if it wasn't for the better... he was still happy he had done so.

For once in his life, he was happy.

He slowly smirked, turning to Jeanne again. "Aa... I do." He began, readying his glaive again. "I _do_ want to get rid of the filth dirtying this world."

He prepared to Oversoul.

"I'll start off with getting rid of you."

-

As soon as Yoh had been released from the spell, he went straight to Hao.

You see, Shamanic spells take utmost concentration to cast, and to _keep_ them that way.

...Unless they were the type used on Hao, however; those were different; they had meant to be used for much longer, therefore taking much more power to cast at once.

Yoh had used his furyoku to destroy the chains still binding Hao up.

...When he had fallen weakly, slouching to the ground in exhaustion, Yoh hugged Hao tightly, sniffing again. "I missed you... Onii-chan..."

Hao paused at that before smiling lightly, sitting up a little as he hugged the brunet-haired boy back, gently though. Really... he couldn't let Yoh see him like this. He was supposed to be the strong one. "I miss you too..." He said quietly, gazing upwards. It was the truth; these days he had been here... he thought about his brother and home a lot. It was unlike him, but...

He was happy. They were _almost_ home free.

...Wait a minute.

He stared at Ren, frowning as he let go of Yoh. "...You do realize I cannot help you with this, don't you?" That's right; he was too weak to fight at the moment.

The pointed-haired shaman shrugged, turning to Jeanne; who was staring calmly at Hao. "I'll defeat her with or without your help." But he'd prefer it was without his help, anyways... "You two just concentrate on leaving."

Hao nodded, looking to Yoh, tugging at his little brother's hand. "Come on." He was at least strong enough to stand and run for a little while; at least long enough to get away from this place.

"But what about Ren-san?" Yoh looked almost scared. He didn't want to leave anyone behind! They were supposed to do this together!

HoroHoro twitched. Enough! He had waited far too long! He wanted to take charge for once! He grumbled under his breathe, sighing. He was so under appreciated... Ren wouldn't even let him fight Jeanne! He wanted to help him, but, noooo; Ren had to be the tough ass once again and fight her himself.

He looked to Yoh. "Ren knows what he's doing!" He forced a grin. "Don't worry; we'll kick some other X-Law's asses on the way out!"

Yoh looked reluctant to go, but he slowly nodded, letting his brother begin to drag him out as he sent Ren and Jeanne one last fleeting look.

HoroHoro, on the other hand, stayed behind for a moment. "Don't die, Ren." He said quietly, shaking his head before running after the two siblings. What was he getting all sentimental about this for...?

Ah well, Ren would make it out of this fine, would he...?

...Hopefully.

-

Ren had frozen upon hearing those last words.

_"Don't die, Ren."_

He twitched a little at that. Some encouragement _that_ was, but...

He smirked. _It'll be the opposite for her. **I** won't be the one who's going to die today._

Ren Oversouled quickly.

An eyebrow slowly raised, crimson eyes gazing at his weapon. "You'll need to be stronger than that if you're going to defeat me." She said quietly, summoning her own spirit. "Restriction!"

Ren defended against that quite easily, actually. When the spirit began to head towards him, he sent the said spirit a Chuuka Zanmai; sending the spirit quietly.

Her eyes widened at that before hardening a little. "You..."

He landed delicately. "Looks like you're not as strong as you thought." He glared harshly at her.

This was it; if he defeated her...

Jun would be avenged.

His glared hardened even more at that, preparing to attack her once more.

Perhaps... this wouldn't be as hard as he thought he would be.

-

"Where were you guys!" HoroHoro shouted to the two, running closely behind them. "We were looking hours for you guys!"

Hao glared at him. HoroHoro was so... obnoxiously annoying. He hated him, really. "Where do you _think_, stupid?"

"..." The ice Ainu glared dagger at him this time. "**Hey**!" His tone was even louder this time. "We came all this way to help you, and that's all you have to say!" Him? Pissed off? _That_ would have been the understatement of the year.

The pyromaniac swiftly turned his head to look in front of him, cursing under his breath. He would feel... somewhat guilty if he didn't say something like this.

"...I know. Thank you." He muttered quietly.

Yoh smiled widely up at his brother before grinning. He was happy. Very, very happy. Before today; he thought he'd never see his brother again. Before today, he thought he would have been alone.

And yet, he knew all along that things would eventually work themselves out.

He was... grateful.

"This is as far as you three go!"

Hao rolled his eyes, slowly stopping. Now what? He was getting impatient! He wanted to get out of this place already! "Oh, it's you." He starred at Marco calmly--the man was pointing a gun... right at Hao's head. "What do you want?"

Marco glared harshly at him. "Asakura Hao..."

Hao sent him a bored look before eyeing Yoh and HoroHoro. He had _just_ enough furyoku to stop Marco, but...

"Usui."

HoroHoro paused at that. "...What?" He wasn't even going to ask how Hao could even _know_ his last name...

"Take Yoh and get out of here. I'll take care of _him_."

Yoh's eyes widened at that. "W-What!" Leaving Ren was one thing, but if he left Hao again... What would have been the point of going there! "**No**! I'm not going to leave you alone again, Onii-chan!" He shouted, holding tightly to his hand. "Hao... please..." His voice cracked a little, trying to back any kind of tears from forming.

HoroHoro shook his head. "Are you stupid or something! I could take care of him myself!"

"Don't be a fool." Hao snorted, eyeing him. "You're not strong enough." He sighed mentally. _...I can't protect both of you, anyways..._ "Just get the Hell out of here!" He eyed Yoh, smirking a little in confidence. "I'll make it through this perfectly fine." He glared at Marco. "He's a weakling, anyways." The scum... there was no way he'd let him live. He had _just_ enough strength to defeat him...

Yoh hesitated before nodding. Ha was right... He'd be fine! His brother was really, really strong! That and he were only facing one X-Law this time, anyways!

At that, HoroHoro rolled his eyes, gently taking a hold of Yoh's arm and began to drag him away this time. "Come on!"

Like Ren and HoroHoro had done to one another, Yoh sent Hao one last gaze before leaving, shaking his head.

_I'll wait for you, Hao_.

Marco fingered the trigger, smirking at that. Really, it'd be easy to kill him. He'd just have to pull the trigger...

Hao twitched, teleporting himself away from Marco when he had done the said thing, appearing behind him and kicking him; sending the said man stumbling with an '_oof_!' sound. "Really, you didn't think I'd die _that_ easily, did you? Idiot." He snorted, smirking.

Marco glared at him. "You!" He growled. Hao would pay for making a fool out of him!

He pointed his gun at him. "Die!"

Hao shook his head, sighing. "You shouldn't play with fire, Marco-_san_." He said in a mock-sweet tone, snapping his fingers.

With that, the building was set a flame.

He shook his head. This was disappointing... He was expecting more of a challenge.

However, he wouldn't do enough damage to kill Marco.

No, he made a promise that he wouldn't.

Marco slowly stood, shaking a little as he looked around.

_The whole building..._

His eyes widened.

If he didn't go back now, Jeanne would surely die!

He glared at Hao, shaking his head. Jeanne was more important than that, wasn't she...? Without her, they couldn't complete any of this!

He began to turn. "...Asakura Hao... we **will** hunt you down eventually."

Hao rolled his eyes, slowly turning.

"Aa. Same to you."

A sigh. Marco must be really stupid--there was no way they'd survive in this fire. But, that didn't matter. What mattered is that he was free to go. Was that he could finally head back home without any worries--if this were succsefull.

_Right.__ Let's go home._

_Together._

**To be concluded**

One more chapter left! ;; Ugh... so tired... I stayed up really late writing this for you guys. ;.;

XO I'm thinking about making a sequel for this. I don't know. We'll see how this last chapter turns out.


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

When HoroHoro saw the building go up in flames, he panicked for the first time in months.

You see--it was a only a few minutes after he and Yoh had began to walk out of the chapel; finally hoping that their loved ones would be safe.

And then...

He ran towards the building as fast as his legs could carry him. "Ren! _Ren_! Ren!" His tone rose with every cry, running towards the building.

Yoh's eyes widened, running after him and tugging at his sweater. "HoroHoro! We can't go in now!" He sounded just as desperate. "Onii-chan..." He had sacrificed himself for their safety.

"I don't care!" HoroHoro glanced at him, pulling his arm out of Yoh's grasp. "They're still in there! We have too..."

The brunet sighed, his eyes sad. "...They both let us go because they wanted us to live, right...? Wouldn't it make them sad if we went back now?" Yoh wanted to go back himself. He really did. Maybe he could save Hao--or at least make sure he made it out of this ok! But... he knew...

It'd be best if they stayed there.

HoroHoro paused at that, shaking his head.

"You're right, but..."

He began to run towards the burning chapel once more. No, his mind was set. He wasn't about to let another loved one die. It was... that would be too much for him.

_I'm not letting Ren die!_

-

Ren sighed in relief as he watched the child fall; injured. Yes, to him; although Jeanne _was_ older than him, he still considered her a mere child.

Because mentally, they were at different ages.

She breathed heavily, tears blurring her vision. Why did things have to end like this...? The only thing she had wanted to do was avenge her comrades, her family. She wanted to help the world--she wanted to help her _country_.

She gazed up at him, sending him one last glare before sighing; her vision only growing more and more blurry.

_Marco-san... Lyserg... I'm sorry._

She had failed them both. She was supposed to protect them.

This wasn't fair at all. She was still young; she still had so much so wanted to do, so much she wanted to live for; so many people she still wanted to protect.

She... still wanted to be with her loved ones.

Ren's words repeated in her head a million times over, sighing a little. What he said... made sense.

_'Cleansing the world doesn't have to mean more useless deaths.'_

She sighed a little at that thought.

_Maybe... we were wrong._

_Maybe **I** was wrong..._

-

He had made it out just in time.

Lyserg stumbled out of the building, whipping beads of sweat from his forehead as he sighed. It was... so hot in there...

He glanced behind him, looking down.

His fists clenched. _This... This is for the best._

He closed his eyes. He felt... well, he didn't really know what to feel right now... But... this was what he had to do. He had to do this to prevent any more deaths from occurring.

_No life should be sacrificed for another_.

He flinched, watching the building burn.

_Even if I went in now...__ I wouldn't be able to save them in time, would I...? I might die, too..._

A sigh. He couldn't even _get into the building_ now, much less save them.

He looked down, his eyes sad as he bit back tears. Jeanne and Marco were... the closest things he had to having a family.

He gazed up at the fire--watching it devour the building furiously.

...He had lost his family once again.

-

HoroHoro coughed weakly as the smoke filled his lungs, bringing his sweater up to cover his mouth, at least. Geeze... he wasn't used to this at all. He _was_ an ice shaman, after all.

He looked around. The last time he had seen Ren was fighting Jeanne... he couldn't still be fighting her, right...? He should at least be trying to escape by now, right...?

He twitched. _And he calls me an idiot..._

His pace quickened, whipping the sweat dripping from his forehead, sighing as he leaned against a nearby wall. He was already exhausted from fighting, so--

"You!"

Hao turned, frowning. "_Me?" _He asked in disbelief. Ugh. HoroHoro wasn't even supposed to be in here! He had stayed behind for a reason! "What about _you_? You're supposed to be outside!" He twitched at that. _The idiot..._

HoroHoro rolled his eyes. "Ren's still in there!" He pointed to the direction where Jeanne's room was before coughing. "I'm going after him!"

Hao rolled his eyes. There was really no point in going back now, was there? The were in already--if they went out now by himself, there would probably be no chance of HoroHoro surviving on his own and... frankly... he wasn't in the mood to see his little brother in a depressed state because HoroHoro was too stupid to rescue Ren.

A sigh.

"Come on, Usui. Let's go get your boyfriend."

-

Yoh's eyes widened as he fell on his knees again, sighing shakily.

HoroHoro still hadn't come out... Neither had Ren or Hao. The flames were just getting larger and larger; it seems like the building would collapse in no time.

Where we they...?

His fists clenched below him, his brows furrowing. He couldn't loose hope.

It was only a matter of time, right?

Eventually, they'd come out. Eventually, they'd all go home. Eventually, they'd all be happy. Eventually, he'd be able to hear Hao's voice again--

"Yoh."

Yeah, that voice--

...Hang on.

He looked up slowly, his eyes wide.

"Hao?"

His brother nodded at him; both HoroHoro and Ren safely on his back. "Aa. Let's go--"

He was cut off when Yoh ran too him, hugging him tightly; the said person smiling slightly to himself--it was a tight, possessive hug; as if Hao were going to disappear at any given moment; as if he never wanted to let him go.

He smiled slightly, despite himself.

Hao was finally back home.

-

"So... How did you guys make it?" Yoh gazed behind him, staring at the four curiously; his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner--Amidamaru was floating contently behind him.

HoroHoro grinned nervously upon hearing that question. "Well... that is..."

"I saved them." Hao answered Yoh's question calmly, smugly. Oh, he would tease them with this for months...

"Shut up!" Ren and HoroHoro yelled at him at the same time, sending him death glares. They were _not_ about to admit that _he_ saved them--especially when they were perfectly capable of saving themselves!

Hn.

Currently, the four were walking home together. It had been a few hours since they had left the building to burn; and HoroHoro had become conscious again just a few moments ago.

It was amazing.

When they were first on their way to the chapel, they were all positive that someone would die--or even more likely _all_ of them would end up dead.

But... things worked themselves out. Just as Yoh had said they would.

Really, it was... amusing, to say the least; how the something as simple as that saying could apply to life _so_ much; that it could keep even the most panicked person from going _crazy_.

Hao had been the one to find Ren--seeing as HoroHoro had fallen unconscious _way_ before then.

Ren... had fallen unconscious as well. Probably far before Hao and HoroHoro had gotten a chance to even _try_ to find him.

And... well... he had to carry both of the unconscious boys out of the fire and into safety.

The only thing that actually _did_ bug Hao, however, was the fact that Jeanne's body was... gone. He couldn't even sense her anywhere _near_ the building when it had collapsed.

His brows furrowed before shaking his head. He probably didn't sense her because... she was dead, right...?

He immediately smirked afterwards though. Ah... no use acting upset, right? They were safe for now... "You owe me, you know." He nodded. "After all, I _did_ risk my life going after you two--"

Ren smacked his forehead in exasperation. "I would have rather died than to be saved by you!" He snapped back furiously.

Hao pouted in a playful manner, poking at Ren's tongari--knowing that it would bother him. "Oh come on, Ren-_chan_, you should be grateful. You wouldn't be with your boyfriend now without my help, now would you?"

Ren's face darkened as he shook. "Kisama..."

HoroHoro and Yoh stopped, watching them.

"I'm going to **kill** you!"

-

HoroHoro held a cloth to his wounds, wincing. "Argh..."

Ren snorted at that, throwing more wood into the fire. "You're still weak." He said in an annoyed manner. "And after all that training..."

"Am not!" HoroHoro pouted, wrapping the said cloths around his wounds. "_You_ didn't get a broken arm! _You_ came out perfectly fine!"

Ren slowly sat, sighing. They had given up walking for now--they had decided to set up camp for the night instead. It was growing dark and... Well... they had wanted to camp under the stars. It was a perfect night to see such a sight.

Right now it was just HoroHoro and Ren sitting around the fire, however--Hao and Yoh had wandered off to look around for a while.

He shot him a concerned look. "...You're alright, aren't you?" It'd be a while before they saw any sign of a clinic, or anything of the sort.

Since they had stopped, they had had a chance to get more materials before finally heading back; now finding themselves in the woods, far away from the small city where they had stopped by a few hours back.

HoroHoro sent him an odd look. "...Yeah." That was... Ren sounded so concerened about him. He slowly grinned, holding up his arm in reassurance as he winced. "You know me! Nothing could get rid of me!"

Ren snorted, rolling his eyes as he looked back at the fire, his cat-like eyes shining a little. "Yeah, I noticed that." Again, he sounded irritated.

HoroHoro twitched. "What's that supposed to mean!" He stuck his tongue out. "You wouldn't last a day without me!"

The other shaman was silent after that remark. "..." If it was at any other time, he would have retorted with a sarcastic remark. But, not this time. This time... it was different. This time, he _had_ thought HoroHoro wouldn't make it out alive.

"Yeah..." He looked away, a light blush taking over his features. "Next time be more careful, idiot."

HoroHoro paused at that before smiling widely, leaning over to kiss the Shaman lightly in reply to that.

At last...

...He was with the person he really loved.

Now they didn't need there sister's; no, not that Ren had finally avenged their sisters (and wouldn't stop making smug remarks that _he_ had been the one to do so; not Hao or HoroHoro), they didn't need anyone else.

They had found another shoulder to lean on.

-

Yoh stared up at the stars, hugging his knees in a content manner. A soft smile played on his features before glancing at Hao, grinning.

He was happy. Very, very happy.

He was with his brother again; HoroHoro and Ren were safe; he didn't have to worry about the X-Laws anymore...

...He froze at that thought, shaking his head. Them dieing... Couldn't have been Hao's fault, right...? The fire started, yes, but... Hao was only trying to protect him, right...?

"Here."

Yoh blinked upon seeing his brother hand him his mantle, sending him a question look.

Hao looked upwards. "...You looked cold." He said quietly, slowly. Sighing again. After training so much--Hao was used to the cold; even under extreme temperatures.

His younger brother paused before nodding. "What about you?" He didn't want Hao to be cold, either.

"I'm fine."

Another nod, Yoh looked down. Hao had done a lot for him--he had always been there for him, hasn't he...? Whenever he was sad, or hurt, or in any danger of any kind.

...But as much as much as thinking about his older brother made him very happy, it also hurt him as well. His chest hurt whenever he looked at him--thought about him.

He had... never been that sad. Not until he had been taken prisoner. Not until he had learned that Hao might have been dead.

Yoh had been very depressed himself during that time...

He smiled widely at the thought. He _had_ always felt like this the whole time, hadn't they? Yoh... just hadn't realize it until now, did he...?

"Hao..." He began slowly, a light blush taking over his features.

He slowly looked down, gazing at his brother quietly. "Hmm?"

"I..." His voice trailed off, smiling a bit nervously, despite himself. In his smile held... softness to it, perhaps even gentleness.

He was a bit scared to say this, but... if he didn't say it now, when would be the next time to say it again...?

"I love you."

Hao paused at that, shaking his head. Was it possible for someone Yoh's age to understand such a feeling? To know what it is to _love_ someone? Not just a family, or a brother? But...

"I know." He said quietly, looking at the stars again. "...Me too." He smile played on his lips once more.

Yoh's eyes lit up at that. Hao's smile... always made him so happy, but hearing those words...

He slowly scooted closer to Hao; as if snuggling close.

Finally...

Finally, they were together again.

**End.**

Well, I hope you guys are happy. :P This Epilogue was... seriously had to write. And... it took me a while. But with testing... yeah... didn't have much time.

But... wow. That scene between HoroHoro, Ren, and Hao was way too much fun to write for its own good... XDDDD

**On an unrelated note: **Everyone check out **Law of Ueki**. Now. It has Shaman King, Full Metal Alchemist, One Piece... it's just... crack. Yep.

...Or **Prince of Tennis.** Man, I can't get over how slashy that series is... XDDD If you think Shaman King's slashy, go ahead and watch that. xD

With this done... I'll probably finish my challenge fics. :X So all multi-chap fics are **on-hold** until then.

Anyways, hope you all like this fic! Tell me if you want a sequel!

**Review please. :D**


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